ELECTRIC WELDING 
AS APPLIED TO 
STEEL SHIP CONSTRUCTION 


A SERIES OF DISCUSSIONS HELD UNDER 
THE AUSPICES OF THE ELECTRIC WELDING 
BRANCH OF THE EDUCATION AND TRAIN¬ 
ING SECTION, UNITED STATES SHIPPING 
BOARD, EMERGENCY FLEET CORPORATION 


REPRINTED FROM 

THE JOURNAL OF THE ENGINEERS’ CLUB OF PHILADELPHIA 


AND AFFILIATED SOCIETIES 




















































































































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Page 


Introduction . 1 

By H. A. Hornor 

Nomenclature for Electric Welding . 1 

By Naval Constructor H. G. Knox, U. S. N. 

Tools for Electric Welding. 9 

By W. L. Merrill 

Time Saving in Steel Ship Construction . 13 

By J. H. Anderton 

The Covered-Electrode Process . 18 

By E. G. Rigby 

A Comparison Between American and British 

Practice in Electric Welding. 29 

By Commander S. V. Goodall, British Navy 

Electric Welding Practice at the Submarine 

Boat Company’s Plant . 35 

By Clark Henderson 

Electric Welding Practice. 38 

By Prof. Comfort A. Adams 

Electric Welding—A New Industry. 44 

By H. A. Hornor 


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ELECTRIC WELDING AS APPLIED TO STEEL SHIP CONSTRUCTION 


A series of discussions held under the auspices of the 
Electric Welding Branch of the Education and Training Sec¬ 
tion of the U.S. Shipping Board, Emergency Fleet Corporation * 


INTRODUCTION 

By H. A. HORNOR, Member 

N March of this year the Emergency Fleet Corpora¬ 
tion appointed a special committee to investigate and 
advise the Corporation on the status of the art of 
electric welding and its possible employment in hastening 
the completion of the steel ship program. Prof. Comfort 
A. Adams was selected as Chairman of this Committee, 
not only because of his long study of the subject, but also 
on account of his energy in organizing a similar committee 
as a sub-committee of the Research Committee of the 
American Institute of Electrical Engineers. This original 
Committee had already gathered a great deal of important 
data and had arranged with the U. S. Shipping Board 
for the visit of Captain Caldwell to this country for the 
purpose of explaining the methods and extent of the 
application in Great Britain. 

One of the earliest suggestions of the Electric Weld¬ 
ing Committee was the necessity for trained operators, and 
the Emergency Fleet Corporation, acting upon this sug¬ 
gestion, added a Branch for the study of this subject 
to the Education and Training Section. The main pur¬ 
pose of this work is to provide skilled men to the ship¬ 
builders, not only for the performance of good welding, 
but to act as instructors for other workmen. 

It was early recognized that the operator, altlio most 
important in the actual making of a good weld, required 
something far more important back of him in the accom¬ 
plishment of perfect joints in the steel structure of a ves¬ 
sel. No man on the Welding Committee to-day fails 
to realize that the joining of the essential parts of a ship 
is a vital and serious question. On the other hand, no 
member of the Committee doubts that, if these joints are 
designed after careful study by the naval architect, the 
engineer, and technician, the application can be made 
most successfully>with a resultant of increased speed of 
construction. With this in mind, the Fleet Corporation 
desired to discuss all the questions connected with this 
subject with the technicians of the shipbuilding industry 
in order that no detail, no matter how minute, should 
escape complete investigation before this industry broad¬ 
ened its field of action. Therefore, a program was pre¬ 
pared to cover in general the entire subject and to en¬ 
courage a full consideration of the details involved. 

* The executives of the Education and Training Section of 
the Emergency Fleet Corporation at the present time are as 
follows: Director, Mr. Louis E. Reber; Superintendent of Train¬ 
ing, Mr. E. E. MacNary; Head of Electric Welding Branch, 
Mr. H. A. Hornor. 


A cursory glance at this program will show that the 
fundamentals of the art had not been grouped in any 
specific order, and that no symbols had been adopted 
so that drawings of a comprehensive nature could be 
prepared. The first discussion consists of an explanation 
of the proper nomenclature and symbols that have now 
been approved as standard by the Electric Welding Com¬ 
mittee. The language, having once been introduced, the 
investigator turns naturally to the tools which are now 
available for performing the work. This forms the sub¬ 
ject of the second discussion. With these two important 
factors, the third discussion naturally turns to the advan¬ 
tages that may be gained in their use in the construction 
of the steel ship. This latter subject applies both to the 
present riveted ship and the future ship that may be 
more largely welded, a subject discussed in the fourth and 
fifth meetings. The sixth discussion makes a summary of 
all the preceding ones and emphasizes the essential points 
dealing with the successful application of electric welding 
in steel ship construction. 


First Discussion 

NOMENCLATURE FOR ELECTRIC WELDING* 

By NAVAL CONSTRUCTOR H. G. KNOX, U. S. N. 


I T is evident to all persons interested in the nomenclature 
of welding that, if we are to avoid confusion and 
retarded progress, we must all talk the same language 
in discussing the same thing. A typical example of the 
result where the design followed the actual working con¬ 
ditions is found in the city of Brooklyn, New York, 
where, I understand, Fulton Street was laid out along 
an old cow-path leading up from the ferry. As a conse¬ 
quence of this system of layout, it is very confusing to 
get about that city. The city’ of Washington, on the 
contrary, was laid out after considerable scientific study 
and based on the competitive designs of architects. In 
this case, the development followed after the design and 
the result is very much more satisfactory. As a further 
illustration, you are reminded that the actual working 
steam engine was in use years before anybody dreamed of 
thermo-dynamics, while electricity, following its dis¬ 
covery by Benjamin Franklin, was entirely a laboratory 
product until the standardization in nomenclature and 
the theory of the subject had been pretty well worked out. 

* Delivered in the Auditorium of the Engineers’ Club of 
Philadelphia, Wednesday evening, June 26, 1918. 


ENGINEERS’ CLUB 


OF PHILADELPHIA 


1 







ENGINEERS’ CLUB 


OF PHILADELPHIA 


As a result, electricity is a most satisfactory science to 
work in because all the terms are clear and concise, and 
1 think we owe a great debt to the electrical engineers 
for their remarkable work in the standardization of 
their rules. 

STANDARD SYMBOLS 

It is also necessary in welding that at the outset we 
adopt a uniform terminology. It was early suggested 
at one of the meetings of the Welding Committee that 
we divide all types of welded joints into several main 
classes, and that a mnemonic symbolism for each be 
adopted. First, under this classification would come 
the type of joint, such as the butt, the jog, the lap, the 
T ee and the strap. The mnemonic symbol proposed was 
for the butt joint the symbol B, the jog, J. the lap, L, 
the Tee, T, and for the strap, S. 


INSTRUCTION CHART WITH STANDARD SYMBOLS 

*”1 


I ship I NAME. OF 
|Te<wwoio»T| ARTICLC. 


| WJ 

l w n“y T i — TT^Tl — I 1 —I m ate: rial!—T—T. s-at 


joftivANiitj — FINI5H — lunnmsH 

I 


size of 

MATERIAL 


| st r AP | — f^TFTI — 1 lap -^ c T or |fiih:t| | plug H rzt- 

O □ A I V ° 

0 CS ,'AV F 

> X X I *♦ 


J 

VI 


I FLAT | — IhoRIZOHT/h] — po ^J^ 0 ° r — | VERTICIlj — |0VCRH»p[ 


~ | I CAUOUil 

| l * Y t» > ~ I 


WELD 


H »T»e«4T«| I COMCOSml 


|RriMroR({o| — [ flu-sh | — t ^eld F —[concave] 


I BRUSH [ »~- |sCRAPe| - |chI5El| - 


PREPARATION_J 

VELD H HC * T 


K 


(steel |—foRoNitJ— elect Roots —| BRASS |—]special|—(covered) i 
5 8i. e. S g— 1 4 

HS-C2D- 



( SOoft.CE.orl I p-taolU or 1 ^ 

POWER | | vJt-UOC^I r 


Next in point of continuity of the complete mnemonic 
system of symbols are the various types of weld. First, 
come the foundation or base weld, which is the first run 
put at the bottom of a heavy V, next, the bolt weld, 
then the edge weld, the fill weld, the plug weld, the seam 
weld, the tack weld, and the special types of weld. To 
illustrate: a joint called a lap filled double tack would, 
under the mnemonic system, be represented by the symbol 
L F K K. Since such a notation would be a great deal 
of bother for the draftsman, we have formed other classi¬ 
fications, and the mnemonic system was abandoned in 
favor of a more nearly symbolic notation, in which cer¬ 
tain symbols, and, in some cases, numbers, have been 


used with the result that the designations are more easily 
placed on the drawings. 

Figure 1 shows the first page of the instruction chart 
illustrating the finally adopted symbols.. In the first 
group are the points which should be covered by the gen¬ 
eral specifications. The second group shows the design, 
the position of the weld and the type, and this the drafts¬ 
man must use. There is here a slight similarity in the 
use of terms that later may be modified for the sake 
of clearness. Group three will be embodied later in a 
Handbook for the shop, and will cover the material and 
size of the electrodes, the current and other necessary 
information for the guidance of the operator. 



STRAP weld is one in which the seam of two adjoining 
plates or surfaces is,reinforced by any form or shape to add 
strength and stability to the joint or plate. In this form of weld 
the seam can only be welded from the side of the work opposite 
the reinforcement, and the reinforcement of whatever shape must 
be welded from the side of the work to which the reinforcement 
is applied. 

6U7T SYMBOL □ 



BUTT weld is one in which two plates or surfaces are 
brought together edge to edge and wplded along the seam thus 
formed. The two plates when so welded form a perfectly flat 
plane in themselves, excluding the possible projective caused by 
other individual objects, as frames, straps, stiffeners, etc., or the 
building up of the weld proper. 


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SEPTEMBER, NINETEEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN 










































































































































































































ELECTRIC WELDING 


TYPE OF JOINT 

Figures 2 and 3 represent one of the design subdivi¬ 
sions, namely, the type of joint. These joints are all 
familiar to shipbuilders. Three characteristic types of 
the strap joint are shown in Figure 2; on the left, is an 
ordinary strap joint in which the joint is backed up by 
an angle; in the centre, an ordinary strap; and on the 
right, a joggled strap. All strap joints are symbolized 
by the circle. All the other symbols which go to tell the 
complete story of the weld are placed inside that circle, as 
will be explained later. Next is the butt joint, and is 
denoted by the square. On the upper right is a type of 


LAP 


SYMBOL 


A 




LAP weld is one in which the edges of two plates are set 
one above the other and the welding material so applied as to 
bind the edge of one plate to the face of the other plate. In this 
form of weld the seam or lap forms a raised surface along its 
entire extent. • 



FILLET weld is one in which some fixture or member is 
welded to the face of a plate by welding along the vertical edge 
of the fixture or member (see “welds” shown and marked “A” 
on illustration at left). The welding material is applied in the 
corner thus formed and finished at an angle of forty-five degrees 
to the plate. 


joint, which, in the original nomenclature, was called a 
flanged butt. Then comes the lap joint, which is denoted 
by the triangle^ with the apex up, and under this type is 
shown the plain lap, the joggled lap and the flanged lap. 
Of the three other types of joints (see Fig. 3), the first 
is called a fillet joint; the second, the plug joint, and the 

PLUG SYMBOL- 



PLUG weld is one used to connect the metals by welding 
thru a hole in either one plate (Fig. “ A ”) or both plates 
(Fig. “B”). Also used for filling thru a bolt hole as at 
Fig. “ C,” or for added strength when fastening fixtures to 
the face of a plate by drilling a countersunk hole thru the 
fixture (Fig. “ D ”) and applying the welding material thru 
this hole, as at Fig. “ D,” thereby fastening the fixture to the 
plate at this point. 

TEE SYMBOL. 



TEE weld is one where one plate is welded vertically to an¬ 
other, as in the case of the edge of a transverse bulkhead (Fig. 
“ A ”) being welded against the shellplating or deck. This is a 
weld which in all cases requires EXCEPTIONAL care and can 
only be used where it is possible to work from both sides of the 
vertical plate. Also used for welding a rod in a vertical posi¬ 
tion to a flat surface, as the rung of a ladder (Fig. “ C”), or a 
plate welded vertically to a pipe stanchion (Fig. “B”), as in the 
case of water-closet stalls. 


ENGINEERS’ CLUB OF PHILADELPHIA 


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ENGINEERS’ CLUB OF PHILADELPHIA 


third, the Tee joint. The fillet joint is rather hard to 
define other than by reference to these sketches, but it 
is the weld that is made around fittings to plates and its 
use will be perfectly clear whenever the occasion arises. 
It is denoted with a triangle with the apex down. The 
plug joint is the weld used where it is necessary to join 
one plate to another by means of punching or otherwise 
making a hole in one plate, such as for service bolts or 
other forms of preliminary bolting up work, which later 
requires filling in. It also applies to welds thru holes 
in forgings used in securing the forgings to plates. The 
symbol in this case is a half circle and straight line, convex 
side up. The Tee joint, which is shown in two or three 
typical forms, is denoted by a half circle with the convex 
side down. 


.*» fctMaci. SP/NCE. 

SINGLE V > anttm.chness yg 



degrees of which are left to the designer. To be used when the 
“ V ” side of the plate is to be a maximum “ strength ” weld, with 
the plate setting vertically to the face of an adjoining member, 
and only when the electrode can be applied from both sides of 
the work. 


DOUBLET s '££°‘- 



.. 

AKX THICKNES& /<& 


to heavy plates where they are accessible on both sides and 
is closely related to the bevel design below. The Double 
V is used in joining plates or forgings, and is applied in 
the case of joints in heavy plates where the plates are 
accessible from both sides. In very heavy plates a suc¬ 
cessful type of joint may be made by using small triangu¬ 
lar filler pieces, thereby reducing the electrode material. 
The Straight Weld, with the symbol of a modified “ I, 
or “ H ” placed on its side, is used only for light plates, 


STRAIGHT 


5 TMSOI. 

nr 


SPACE 

SEE NOTES BELOW 



STRAIGHT is a term applied to the “edge finish ” of a 
plate, when this edge is left in its crude or sheared state. To 
be used only where maximum strength is NOT essential, or un¬ 
less used in connection with strap, stiffener or frame, or where 
it is impossible to otherwise finish the edge. Also to be used 
for a “strength” weld when edges of two plates set vertically 
to each other—as the edge of a box. 


because the arc is unable to get down between thicker 
plates and make a good weld at the bottom. If it were 
attempted to use the arc in a deep, straight-sided opening 
with a bare electrode, it would jump from side to side and 
off the body of the electrode rather than off the point. 
It is necessary, where this joint is used, to vary the space 
between the edges of the plate, depending upon the thick¬ 
ness of the plate. The Single Bevel is in some ways 
an unusual joint, not as common as the Double Bevel, 
but it has its uses, particularly in horizontal seams. It 
is also claimed to be more economical from the machin¬ 
ing point of view, because only one plate edge is machined. 



DOUBLE “ V ” is a term applied to the “ edge finish ” of 
two adjoining plates when the adjoining edges of both plates are 
beveled from BOTH sides to an angle, the degrees of which are 
left to the designer. To be used when the two plates are to be 
“ butted ” together along these two sides for a maximum 
“strength ” weld. Only to be used when welding can be per¬ 
formed from both sides of the plate. 

DESIGN OF WELD 

We now come to the weld itself. The first design, 
Fig. 6, is the Single V, and its symbol is the letter “V” 
placed on its side. The application of the V is obvious. 
As a matter of fact, the V joint is very largely confined 



SINGLE BEVEL is a term applied to the edge finish 
of a plate when this edge is beveled from ONE side only to 
an angle, the degrees of which are left to the designer. 
To be used for “strength” welding when the electrode can 
be applied from ONE side of the plate only, or where it is 
impossible to finish the adjoining welding surface. 


4 


SEPTEMBER, NINETEEN 


HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN 














































































ELECTRIC WELDING 


The double bevel joint is probably the one that will be 
most employed in ship construction. The symbol for the 
single and double bevel is the single and double arrow. 


DOUBLE. m%L ANY THICKNfcSS */& 



DOUBLE BEVEL is a term applied to the edge finish of two 
adjoining plates when the adjoining edges of both plates are 
beveled from ONE side only to an angle, the degrees of which 
are left to the designer. To be used where maximum strength is 
required, and where electrode can be applied from ONE side 
of the work only. 

POSITION OF WELD 

In arc welding the position of the weld makes a 
great difference. Fig. 13 shows the four different posi- 



FLAT position is determined when the welding material is 
applied to a surface on the same plane as the deck, allowing the 
electrode to be held in an upright or vertical position. The weld¬ 
ing surface may be entirely on a plane with the deck, or one 
side may be vertical to the deck and welded to an adjoining mem¬ 
ber that is on a plane with the deck. 

HORIZONTAL position is determined when the welding 
material is applied to a seam or opening the plane of which is 
vertical to the deck and the line of weld is parallel with the deck, 
allowing the electrode to be held in an inboard or outboard 
position. 

VERTICAL position is determined when the welding ma¬ 
terial is applied to a surface or seam whose line extends in a 
direction from one deck to the deck above, regardless of whether 
the adjoining members are on a single plane or at an angle to 
each other. In this position of weld the electrode would also 
be held in a partially horizontal position to the work. 

OVERHEAD position is determined when the welding ma¬ 
terial is applied from the under side of any member whose plane 
is parallel to the deck and necessitates the electrode being held in 
a downright or inverted position. 

ENGINEERS’ CLUB 


TACK SYMBOL^* 



A TACK weld is applying the welding material in small 
sections to hold two edges together, and should always be speci¬ 
fied by giving the SPACE from centre to centre of weld and 
the LENGTH of the weld itself. No particular “design of 
weld ” is necessary of consideration. A TACK is also used for 
temporarily holding material in place that is to be solidly welded, 
until the proper alignment and position are obtained, and in this 
case, neither the LENGTH, SPACE, nor DESIGN OF WELD 
.is to be specified. 



A STRENGTH weld is one in which the sectional area of 
the welding material must be so considered that its tensile strength 
and elongation per square inch must be equal at least to 80 per 
cent, of the ultimate strength per square inch of the surrounding 
material. (To be determined and specified by the designer.) 
The welding material can be applied in any number of layers 
beyond a minimum specified by the designer. 

The density of the crystalline metals is NOT of vital im¬ 
portance. In this form of weld, the “ design of weld ” must be 
specified by the designer and followed by the operator. 



REINFORCED is a term applied to a weld when the top 
layer of the welding material is built up above the plane of the 
surrounding material as at Fig. “ A ” or Fig. “ B ” above, or 
when used for a corner as in Fig. “ C.” The top of final layer 
should project above a plane of 45 degrees to the adjoining 
material. This 45-degree line is shown “dotted” in Fig. “C” 
above. This type is chiefly used in a “ Strength ” or “ Com¬ 
posite ” kind of weld for the purpose of obtaining the maximum 
strength efficiency and should be specified by the designer, to¬ 
gether with a minimum number of layers of welding material. 

OF PHILADELPHIA 


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ENGINEERS’ CLUB OF PHILADELPHIA 



A CAULKING weld is one in which the density of the 
crystalline metal used to close up the seam or opening is such 
that no possible leakage is visible under a water, oil or air pres¬ 
sure of 25 pounds per square inch. The ultimate strength of a 
caulking weld is not of material importance; neither is the “ de¬ 
sign of weld ” of this kind necessary of consideration. The oper¬ 
ator must be the judge in the number of layers needed for a 
tight weld, altho the designer should specify a minimum 
amount of layers. 


COMPOSITE SYMBOL* 9* 




A COMPOSITE weld is one in which both the strength and 
density are of the most vital importance. The STRENGTH 
must be at least as specified for a “ strength weld,” and the 
density must meet the requirements of a “ caulking weld ” both 
as above defined. The minimum number of layers of welding 
material must always be specified by the designer, but the welder 
must be in a position to know if this number must be increased 
according to the welder’s working conditions. 


CONCAVE. 




CONCAVE is a term applied to a weld when the top layer 
finishes below the plane of the surrounding material as at Fig. 
“ G ” above, or beneath a plane of 45 degrees at an angular con¬ 
nection as at Figs. “ H ” and “ J ” above. 

To be used as a weld of no further importance than filling 
in a seam or opening, or for strictly caulking purposes, when it 
is found that a minimum amount of welding material will suf¬ 
fice to sustain a specified pound square inch pressure without 
leakage. In this “ type of weld ” it will not be necessary for 
the designer ordinarily to specify the number of layers of 
material, owing to the lack of structural importance. 



FLUSH is a term applied to a weld when the top layer is 
finished perfectly flat or on the same plane as on the adjoining 
material as shown at Figs. “ D ” and “ E ” above, or at an angle 
of 45 degrees when used to connect two surfaces at an angle to 
each other as at Fig. “ F ” above. This type of weld is to be 
used where a maximum tensile strength is not all important and 
must be specified by the designer, together with a minimum num¬ 
ber of layers of welding material. 

fiions, namely, flat, horizontal, vertical and overhead. 
The flat is the most usual and probably the most favor¬ 
able position, as tho it were being done on a table. The 
horizontal is such a seam as would be made on a wall 
along the top of the wainscoting. The vertical, of 
course, is obvious, as is also the overhead. As to the 
speed of welding, there is not much difference between 
the flat and the vertical, and when the welders become 
skilled there is not much choice, because they can make 
the two with equal rapidity. When the horizontal weld 
is considered, it would probably go only 90 per cent, as 
fast as on the flat weld. The quality of the welds is 
probably about equal. On the overhead weld the speed 
falls, being only about 60 per cent, that of the flat weld. 
It is slow because it is difficult to make the arc work uphill, 
and the strain on the operator is greater. The strength 
of the welds made in different positions is up to the 
welder and there can be no rule set. Some experts, how¬ 
ever, say that if the flat is 100 per cent., the vertical 
is 90 per cent., the horizontal 85 per cent, and the over¬ 
head 80 per cent., but that is based on the margin of 
safety rather than the actual fact, and the research com¬ 
mittee, at least, is not yet to the point of stating that 
any difference in the quality of the weld is due to 
its position. 


KIND OF WELD 

The next thing the designer has to tell the welder is 
the kind of weld to make. The Tack weld shown in Fig. 6 
is represented by the symbol 6, and is used where neither 
strength nor tightness is needed. In specifying a tack 
weld it is necessary to give the length of each tack and 
the distance from centre to centre, so that the man on 
the job may know what the designer contemplated in the 
way of strength. The next is a caulking weld, symbol 7, 
in which the prime requisite is not strength, but requisite 
density to assure water or oil tightness. I have great respect 
for the man who drew these figures, because on paper 
there is very little difference in them. Symbol 8 
is a strength weld, and, as a matter of fact, a good strength 
weld will be also usually a good caulking weld. For com¬ 
pletion, however, there is specified a composite weld, 
which has for its symbol the figure 9. This weld has both 
qualities of the strength and caulking welds. It embodies 
the strength of the former and the density of the latter. 


6 


SEPTEMBER, NINETEEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN 






















































ELECTRIC 


WELDING 


TYPE OF WELD 

The next subdivision is here called the “ type of 
weld," but that name may be changed, for the sake of 
simplifying the terminology. The suggestion, at least, 
has been made to change it to “ finish of weld ” (see 
Fig. 7). The first “type of weld” is the Reinforced 
Weld, as is very clearly shown in Fig. 7 in three dififerent 
types. In the flush type the metal is finished straight 
across, as in the case of a flush rivet. The Concave 
weld shows the surface does not need to be filled up 
full, as in the case of these three illustrations. Being 
so closely related to strength, the finish of the weld will 


BUTT WELD, concave:, 
CAULRlNq OF Z LAYERS, 

flat; straight 


71 F 
X 


concave. 



The symbol shown represents a Butt Weld between two 
plates with the welding material finished concaved and applied 
in a minimum of two layers to take the place of caulking. The 
edges of the plates are left in a natural shear cut finish. This 
symbol will be quite frequently used for deck plating or any 
other place where strength is not essential, but where the ma¬ 
terial must be water, air or oil tight. 


ultimately have to be specified by the drafting room. 
To-day the designer asks the welder how to best do a 
job, but of course, ultimately, the design properly sym¬ 
bolized will be shown on the drawing or else will be 
covered by standard specifications. 

BUTT WE. L D, FLUSH, 
COMPOSITE. Of ^ LAYE 
FLAT, DOUBLE BEVEL. 




flat welo 



This symbol shows two plates butted together in a flat posi¬ 
tion where the welding can only be applied from the top surface. 
It shows a weld required for plating where both strength and 
water-tightness are to be considered. The welding material is 
applied in a minimum of three layers and finished flush with the 
level of the plates. Both edges of the adjoining plates are 
beveled to an angle, the degrees of which are left to the dis¬ 
cretion and judgment of the designer, and should only be used 
when it is impossible to weld from both sides of the work. 

Fig. 8 shows the combination of symbols. The square 
is the symbol of the Butt joint. The inverted half moon 
inside the square at the top shows that it is a concave 
type of weld. Underneath this the first numeral “ 7 ” 
shows that it is a caulking weld, the next numeral “ 2 ” 


33 V 
x 


BUTT WELD, REINFORCED, 
STRENGTH OF 3 LAYERS, 
VERTICAL, DOUBLE VEF. 



LAP WELP, CONCAVE, 
CAULKING OF L -LAYERS, 
OVERHEAD ANP FLAT, 
.STRAIGHT 



This symbol is used where the edges of two plates are ver¬ 
tically butted together and welded as a strength member. The 
edges of the adjoining plates are finished with a “Double Vee” 
and the minimum of three layers of welding material applied 
from each side, finished with a convex surface, thereby making 
the sectional area per square inch of the weld greater than that 
of the plates. This will be a conventional symbol for shell plat¬ 
ing or any other members requiring a maximum tensile strength, 
where the welding can be done from both sides of the work. 



The sketch shows the edges of two plates lapping each other 
with the welding material applied in not less than two layers at 
each edge, with a concaved caulking finish, so applied as to make 
the welded seams absolutely water, air or oil tight. The edges of 
the plates themselves are left in a natural or sheared finish. Con¬ 
ditions of this kind will often occur around bulkhead door frames 
where maximum strength is not absolutely essential. 


ENGINEERS’ CLUB OF PHILADELPHIA 


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ENGINEERS’ CLUB 

behind the “ 7 ’’ shows that the operator must put in 
two layers. The letter “ F ” on the same line shows 
that the position of the weld is flat and the “ I ” in the 
bottom of the square indicates that the design of the weld 
is straight. In the next diagram (Fig. 8) the symbols 

A LAP WELC? RLINFORCEP, 
STRENGTH OF 3 LAYERS 
L —* AND TACMNG, 16" CENTER 
TO CENTER, 6** LONG, 
VERTICAL, STRAIGHT 



The illustration herein shown is somewhat exaggerated as 
regards the bending of the plates, but it is only shown this way 
to fully illustrate the tack and continuous weld. It shows the 
edges of the plates lapped with one edge welded with a continu¬ 
ous weld of a minimum of three layers with a reinforced finish, 
thereby giving a maximum tensile strength to the weld, and the 
other edge of the plate, tack welded. The tacks are six inches 
long with a space of 12 inches between the welds or 18 inches 
from centre to centre of welds. In both cases, the edges of 
plates are left in a natural or sheared state. 



The sketch shows a condition exaggerated, which is apt to 
occur in side plating where the plates were held in position with 
bolts for the purpose of alignment before being welded. The 
edges are to be welded with a minimum of three layers of welding 
material for a strength weld and finished flush, and after the 
bolts are removed, the holes thus left are to be filled in with 
welding material in a manner prescribed for strength welding. 
The edges of the plates are to be left in a natural or sheared 
state, which is customary in most cases of lapped welding. 


OF PHILADELPHIA 

may be read oft* in the same way as above illustrated. In 
the third diagram on Fig. 8 the square symbol indicates 
the butt weld, the dash in the top of the square shows that 
it is flush, the numeral “ 9 ” shows that it is composite, 
numeral “ 3 ” determines the number of layers, the letter 
“ F ” makes it a flat weld and at the bottom the dash 
with the arrow heads on each end designates it as a 
double bevel design. 

Fig. 9 illustrates some additional symbols showing a 
Caulking weld of two layers. It is shown both over¬ 
head and flat and the plate finish is straight. The 
second diagram in Fig. 9 is more complicated, and is of 
a lap weld, reinforced with three layers after tacking. 
The distance of the tacking from centre to centre and 
length of the tacks and the finish are all given. The 
third diagram in Fig. 9 is another application of the 
same thing, in which two kinds of joints appear, the sym¬ 
bols being superimposed, indicating that it is a plug 
and lap joint. Many combinations of symbols have been 
worked out and are very interesting, as is also the ease 
with which they may be placed on the drawing. 

DESIGN OF BATTLE-TOWING TARGET 

Fig. 10 shows a portion of the steel keel for a battle- 
towing target now building at the Norfolk Navy Yard. 
This design was prepared for me by the subcommittee of 
Design of the Electric Welding Committee, and shows 
the method of building the steel keel with electrically 
welded joints. It also demonstrates the ease of applying 
the symbols which I have just explained, and I wish to 
call attention to the lack of the usual dimensioning that 
would be necessary on a similar riveted structure. The 
upper structure is of wood. The buoyancy is all in the 
wood so that if the target is shot to pieces the structure 
will still float. The wood is fitted to the shelf and built 
up to quite a height. The keel goes down some 15 feet 
and is about a foot and a half wide. The sides are of 
15-pound plates and the floors are set up between the two 
sides. This keel is full of water and pig-iron so as to 
hold the target vertically. This structure is rigid and 
subject to all the wave stresses that are met at sea. 
While it is not a ship, it is, nevertheless, subjected to 
the same stresses and sea conditions that would affect 
any seagoing vessel, and we hope by introducing a 
variety of welds in this job to get a good line on the 
possibilities of electric welding. 

Fig. 11 gives a number of details of the welded joints 
and again emphasizes the ease and rapidity with which 
drawings for welded construction can be made. There 
will no doubt be a great deal of saving in the drafting 
room as well as in the shop when this application is 
generally applied to shipbuilding processes. 

This practically finishes the question of nomenclature. 
It is not so complicated after all in its conception, and I 
do not think it will be found very complicated in practice. 
Its use is absolutely necessary, if we are going to under¬ 
stand each other as we must. 

I consider, however, that the main message that I 


8 


SEPTEMBER, NINETEEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN 





























ELECTRIC WELDING 


can deliver to the shipbuilder is—For goodness’ sake, go 
ahead and use arc welding. We do not want arc welding 
of the whole ship yet, nor do we want to do extensive 
jobs, but there are thousands of jobs that can be done 
profitably, in money and time, by the help of arc welding, 
and by the help of the classification societies, which have 
already done so much in opening up the extensive 
field of this very remarkable addition to the industry 
of shipbuilding. 


nace is operated. In Fig. 1 is shown a very general 
type of such a furnace, having, let us say, two elec¬ 
trodes. Here we have the furnace charge consisting 
of scrap iron, pig iron, iron ore or other metals; the 
source of electric supply; and the regulators for main¬ 
taining a definite current. 

There are many types of these furnaces in use, but, 
regardless of the type, there is but one object to be 
accomplished, i.e., to put heat in the charge, bring it to 


GENERAL NOTES 

All butt straps to be of IS ± 
plating 3" wide and to be ap¬ 
plied on inboard side of plat¬ 
ing. All butt straps to be 
fastened to the forward plate 
in the shops. All symbols 
bearing a small • represent 
shop work. 



run size xenon rngii (R) 


Second Discussion 


TOOLS FOR ELECTRIC WELDING* 

By W. L. MERRILL 

Engineer, Power and Mining Department, General Electric Company 
Schenectady, N. Y. 


B EFORE discussing the tools and the methods of 
producing welds, it may be well briefly to go into 
some of the fundamental principles of the. 
processes of arc and spot welding, since, at the present 
time, these types of welds are the most important so 
far as making progress in the shipbuilding program. 

ARC WELDING 

In a sense arc welding is different from blacksmith 
welding, or spot welding, or welding where no addi¬ 
tional metals are used for filling purposes, and is well 
illustrated in the principle on which the electric fur- 

* This is the second of a series of lectures on “ Electric 
Welding” held under the auspices of the U. S. Shipping Board 
in the Auditorium of the Engineers’ Club of Philadelphia, Wed¬ 
nesday, July 10, 1918. 



temperature, refine it, and make it into a molten state 
to produce castings. The accomplishment of this ob¬ 
ject in the electric furnace is brought about by the 
application of the same principles and instruments 
used in arc welding, with the difference that in the fur¬ 
nace carbon is used to conduct the current down to the 



ENGINEERS’ CLUB OF PHILADELPHIA 


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ENGINEERS’ CLUB 


OF PHILADELPHIA 


metal, whereas in arc welding a metal electrode is 
employed, the end of which melts as the heat becomes 
intense enough to fuse the metal. 

For illustration, let us consider a most simple kind 
of weld ; say two pieces of steel plate (see Fig. 2) which 
are to be joined together. In this case the plate be¬ 
comes one side of the welded surface, while the ma¬ 
terial added to fill the gap between the plates forms 
the other side. As the arc is started and heat produced, 
the sole object is to create a miniature arc furnace, sup¬ 
plying the material by hand in the same way as the 
regulator on the furnace runs the electrode down and 
maintains a definite length of arc. If the currents are 
not properly adjusted; if the apparatus is not arranged 
so as to give the proper welding conditions, or the 
operator unskilled, a weld will be produced in most 
cases like the one shown in Fig. 3. There will be no 



ADHESION 6 UT N OT V/ELPEP 

FIG. 3 


difficulty in filling up the groove with molten metal, 
but a section cut thru the weld will, in most cases, show 
a cleavage, even to leaving the original tool marks 
visible. Altho this is not a weld, there is some adhesion 
and more or less strength. To weld properly, however, 
the operator must start at the bottom of the groove, 
and, by alternately filling in and then melting a little 
metal at a time, continue in this manner until the gap 
has been entirely filled as shown in Fig. 4. 


HETAL FROM ELECTRODE 



PLATE METAL, VARYING FROM 100/4 PLATE 
TO 100/4 ELECTRODE. 

FIG. 4 

ARC WELDING TOOLS 

Understanding, then, the conditions for which we 
are striving, and bearing in mind that there are really 
only three tools for arc welding, let us see what we 
have to start with. Of these tools, first in order is 
the source of current; second, some transforming or 
control device to control the current within necessary 
limitations; and third, the skill and brain of the oper¬ 
ator. In estimating roughly the worth of these tools, 
I would valuate the current and controlling device at 
10 per cent., and the skill and brain of the operator at 
90 per cent., and accordingly I consider a most im¬ 
portant factor in this industry the cooperation schools, 
since in these schools welders will be trained who can do 
entirely satisfactory work with the tools supplied them. 


CHOICE OF CURRENT 

Successful welding can be done with both alternat¬ 
ing and direct current, and both systems have their ad¬ 
vantages. In general, however, local conditions, such 
as the kind of current with which the shipyard is sup¬ 
plied, together with location of the welding operations, 
i.e., whether done in the shop or field, may well be the 
determining factors. 

In the case of shop welding, where the operators 
are close together, the work is brought to the welding 
apparatus rather than the apparatus to the work. It 
would seem to be folly to transform from D.C. to A.C., 
or vice versa, but there are limitations which must be 
considered. If a considerable number of welders are 
to be employed, welding directly by A.C., the low 
power factor of the load must be taken into considera¬ 
tion with the supply system; and while it would be 
folly to transform from D.C. to A.C., it might be 
necessary to transform from A.C. to D.C. for any con¬ 
siderable number of welders. In such a case, only by 
a study of the conditions prevailing, and the ability of 
either A.C. or D.C. equipment to meet these conditions, 
can the choice of current be determined. 

DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS 

If we bear in mind that a very low voltage is used 
in carrying on any welding operation—a voltage rang¬ 
ing from 12 to 15 volts, using direct current, and per¬ 
haps 20 to 30 volts using alternating current—it will 
be realized that the matter of distribution over a ship 
becomes a problem. 

If a central station be placed near the ship to trans¬ 
mit the current at these low voltages to the required 
points, it will mean that the cable supply will be in the 
way, and present probably even a more serious fault 
than does air hose at the present time. From an engin¬ 
eering standpoint, also, it would be unpracticable to 
distribute at these low voltages, so that it is necessary 
to arrange some device by which it is possible to divide 
the power into different sections. 


2300 Ac 



One system that has been worked out and will prob¬ 
ably be installed in one of the larger yards, where a 
voltage of 2200 is used to start with, is shown in Fig. 5. 
Here four 60-cycle motor-generator sets, each having a 


10 


SEPTEMBER, NINETEEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN 



















ELECTRIC WELDING 


potential of 60 volts and a resistance to reduce that 
voltage wherever the men happen to be working, are 
employed. Each motor-generator set has a capacity 
equal to one-fourth that required by the total number 
of welders, which in this case is about 60, and therefore 
distributes 15 operators over each section. 

Another system that can be used requires, from the 
nature of the system, 125 volts direct current to start 
with, so that in case the yard were supplied as above 
with 2200 volts A.C. it would be necessary to trans¬ 
form from 2200 to 125, each welder down in the ship 
having his own motor-generator set. 

Still another system which can be used—and is be¬ 
ing used, by the way, in some yards—consists of lead¬ 
ing up to some convenient deck on the ship with 2200 
volts and there reducing down thru a static trans¬ 
former, to, say, 440 volts A.C., instead of reducing to 
125 volts D.C. In this case motor-generator sets for 
each welder reducing from 440 volts A.C. to 40 or 60 
volts D.C. would be used. 

A still further system consists of a reduction to 
110 to 125 volts A.C., then running with dead resistance 
or reactance, and welding directly with A.C. 



AC RESISTANCE OR REACTANCE 

FIG. 6 

Due to some peculiarity in striking the arc, it be¬ 
comes necessary to start with 110 volts, or a little 
over, in the case of A.C., while with direct current, 40 
to 60 volts are all that are necessary. Therefore, as¬ 
suming that the current required in either A.C. or 
D.C. welding is the same, we see that a basis may be 
had for computing, in each case, the capacity of the 
lines. See Figs. 6 and 7. 



DC CONSTANT POTENTIAL 

40 OR 60 VOLTS, RESISTANCE REGULATION 

FIG. 7 


HOLDERS, MASKS 

Of the other tools, such as electrode holders, and 
masks for the protection of the operators, very little 
need be said. There are many of these devices in use, 
each of which is doing good work in the railroad shops 
and other places where electric welding has been used 
for a number of years. It is hoped that some of the 
best ones will be chosen and standardized for ship 
work. 

SPOT WELDING 

So far as electric welding is concerned, spot welding 
is one of the oldest arts. It has been used for many 
years in the welding of thin plates up to a thickness 
of one-quarter inch, and recent experiments have 
shown it feasible to spot weld in one operation as many 
as three one-inch plates. 



The action which takes place in the spot weld is 
practically the same as that which takes place when a 
blacksmith makes a weld. The plates are put under a 
heavy hydraulic or air pressure, and an alternating 
current at high density sent thru the plates by means 
of electrodes located immediately above and below the 
area under compression. See Fig. 9 . As the current 
heats up the contact area of the plates (see Fig. 8 ), this 
area becomes plastic and the pressure squeezes the sur¬ 
faces together. While in that condition they cool. 
First the current is taken off, then the pressure and the 
weld is complete. 

SPOT-WELDING TOOLS 

So far as shipbuilding is concerned, the extent to 
which spot welding may be commercially applied has 
not yet been determined. Three experimental ma¬ 
chines are, however, being built at the present time 
for the Hog Island yard by means of which it is hoped 
the limitations of spot welding in this field may be 
ascertained. 

Fig. 9 shows one of these machines, a heavy 
welder, with a capacity of 15 to 20 tons pressure, which 


ENGINEERS’ CLUB 


OF PHILADELPHIA 


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ENGINEERS’ CLUB 


OF PHILADELPHIA 



School for Electric Arc Welders established by the 
Emergency Fleet Corporation at the plant of the General 
Electric Company. 





Interior of locomotive fire box. Back tube sheet ready for 
welding by arc process. 



Electrically welded steel plates inch and 1 inch thick 
after being tested in tension. Showing effect of compound 
stresses due to effect in line of tension caused by the lapping 
of the pales. 



Front view welding booth. G. E. Welding School. 



Machine for experimental welding of heavy steel by elec¬ 
tricity current. Capacity, 100,000 amperes. Pressure capacity, 
36 tons. Sample weld being made. 



Two-inch tubes electric arc welded in J^-in. boiler plate, 
showing welds and battered tubes. No oil leaks produced. 


12 


SEPTEMBER, NINETEEN 


HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN 





























ELECTRIC WELDING 



ELECTRIC WELDING AS APPLIED TO STEEL 
SHIP CONSTRUCTION 


A series of discussions held under 
the auspices of the Electric Welding 
Branch of the Education and Training 
Section of the U. S. Shipping Board, 
Emergency Fleet Corporation 


will have about a six-foot gap. With this machine we 
expect to fabricate by spot welding, with no previous 
work except the cutting, such portable structures as 
deck houses, which are now being put together in the 
shops by riveting. 

The second machine (see Fig. io), which is being 
built on exactly the same principle, but for another 
purpose, is to be used in making up the floors. With 
this machine it is hoped that, when the plates and 
angles have to be assembled, it will be possible to go 
around them and “ spot ” them together in the same 
way as is now done with a bull riveter. While it is not 
thought possible to fabricate this work as quickly by 
spot welding as by riveting, it is nevertheless expected 
to show a saving in the total time required when all 
the work preliminary to riveting is taken into consid¬ 
eration. Even marking with a punch may be elim¬ 
inated, where numbers of pieces of the same size and 
dimensions are welded, if, as is expected, a method of 
clamping may be worked out. 


Third Discussion. 


TIME SAVING IN STEEL SHIP CONSTRUCTION* 

By J. H. ANDERTON 

Electrical Engineer, American International Shipbuilding 
Corporation 


T HERE are a number of features involved in the 
application of welding to ship construction which do 
not ordinarily apply to the usual and normal fields 
of welding. In the locomotive shops the personnel directly 
concerned is the master mechanic, chief engineer and 
similar officials, who among themselves decide as to the 
usefulness and general applicability of welding. Mistakes 
are rectified as the work proceeds and find new appli¬ 
cation. The same thing takes place in a large num¬ 
ber of munition shops where bombs, grenades and similar 
munitions are being successfully welded in very large 
quantities. 


HANGER 



The third experimental machine, now being built, is 
exactly like the second, and of the same capacity but of 
a smaller size. This machine will be used for smaller 
work where the throat of the other machine is not 
necessary, and it is expected that there will be a large 
field for its use in putting on fishplates, angles and 
other structural shapes. 

From these machines it is expected to obtain data 
showing comparisons in labor, cost and time between 
riveting and spot welding. If, as confidently expected, 
these comparisons are favorable to spot welding, it will 
mean that the material can go directly from the shears 
to the welders without any previous punching either 
in the fabrication shops or in the shipyard. 


The Interests Affecting the Application of Electric Welding 
to Shipbuilding 

These features, however, are not so simple when ap¬ 
plied to the present-day ship program. Practically all ships 
being constructed in the United States at the present time 
are directly or indirectly under the control of our Gov¬ 
ernment, and the interests affecting the application of 
welding to the vessel in any of its parts may be put as 
follows: 

1. The personal interest of the Yard constructing the 

vessel to see that all parts are securely and properly 
put together, to the end that the vessel shall finally 
reflect full credit to its constructor. This is identical 
with the interest of the railways, manufacturers and 
others. 

2. The interest of the representative of the United States 

Shipping Board as representing the Owner, to the end 
that the Owner shall receive a good ship. 

3. The interest of Lloyds Register of Shipping and the 

American Bureau of Shipping, which are identical. 


♦Delivered in the Auditorium of the Engineers’ Club, July 
17, 1918. 


ENGINEERS’ CLUB OF PHILADELPHIA 


13 


























ENGINEERS’ CLUB 


OF PHILADELPHIA 


Lloyds Register and the American Bureau of Ship¬ 
ping have jointly issued a circular letter embracing a 
certain number of parts in the vessel where electric weld¬ 
ing will be approved. It is expected that this list of items 
will be added to as recommendations are made by the 
various shipyards and other welding interests, dependent 
upon the judgment of the Classification Societies as to 
their safety. There are hundreds of places in the vessels 
which have not been specifically embraced in the list pub¬ 
lished by the Classification Societies, but which, however, 
can be assumed as embraced in this approved list. 

When the welding engineer in any shipyard decides 
that he sees some particular operation in the construction 
of a vessel which could be more suitably performed by 
welding than by the usual methods, the following pro¬ 
cedure is necessary: 

1. The approval must be obtained of the structural engi¬ 

neer or other official having jurisdiction over such 
matters in general at the Yard concerned. 

2. Note must be made to see if this operation has been 

embraced in the Classification Societies’ list. If 
examination discloses that it has not been embraced, 
it is necessary to take this up as a specific item to be 
passed upon by both societies. 

3. It is necessary to take this item up, in most cases, with 

the authorized representative of the U. S. Shipping 
Board for his judgment and approval. 

The writer personally feels that this method of pro¬ 
cedure is at the present time one of the greatest obstacles 
to the application of electric welding on the present ship 
program, for the difficulty and time consumed on obtain¬ 
ing approval upon each specific item in the manner above 
outlined is disheartening and tends to prevent the auto¬ 
matic operation of methods which have proven satisfac¬ 
tory in a large number of cases. 

Shipbuilders, however, have been proceeding along 
established lines of practice for a great number of years; 
this practice has proven itself satisfactory and it is to 
be expected that a great amount of caution will be exer¬ 
cised on their part in the substitution of any method for 
an established and satisfactory system. 

SPOT WELDING 

While spot welding is embraced in these discussions 
of the application of welding to ships, no spot-welded 
parts of steel ships have yet been specifically approved 
by the Classification Societies. One reason for this may 
be found in the fact that up to recently large spot-welding 
machines were not very generally in use in this country. 
There are, however, a number of machines now in the 
process of manufacture, and it is expected that as experi¬ 
ments proceed with the actual machines it will be demon¬ 
strated to all parties interested that spot welding can 
supersede riveting, particularly in the fabrication shops, to 
a very large extent. 


There are at the present time a large number of places 
in vessels where spot welding can be applied without the 
necessity of consulting the Classification Societies, viz.: 
the portion of the construction members of the vessel 



THIRTEEN-FOOT MAST ELECTRICALLY WELDED 


which are not capital parts of the ship. Such items as 
crow’s nests, smoke stacks, uptakes, ventilators, cowls 
and stacks, interial ventilation ducts, skylight framings, 
stair treads and stringers, certain watertight and non- 
watertight bulkheads; and in fact a large amount of this 
work is already being spot welded, particularly the parts 
of fabricated skylights. Experiments have also been 
made with spot welding of watertight doors, and this is 
permissible under the definite restrictions of the Classifi¬ 
cation Societies. The time saved by the full application 
of spot welding in all its possibilities to the parts alone, 
not particularly effected by the Classification Societies, is 
enormous. 

POINTS EFFECTING TIME SAVING 

The four fundamental points which effect time saving 
by welding in ship construction are: First, an intimate 
knowledge of and a proper attitude towards the applica¬ 
tion of welding by the designing forces in the drafting 
room; second, welding equipment in the shops and its 
flexibility as applied to the work; third, welding equip¬ 
ment and distribution system on the ways for the vessels 
themselves; and, lastly, good welds and good welders. 


14 


OCTOBER, NINETEEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN 











ELECTRIC WELDING 


THE ATTITUDE OF THE DRAFTING ROOM 

In discussing the various items, where welding can 
be applied on vessels, with the designing forces, particu¬ 
larly the men in what is called “Hull Findings,” the writer 
has been agreeably surprised to note that these men are 
actually anxious to find out all that is known about weld¬ 
ing. Looking at it from their point of view it means, 
practically speaking, the entire absence of careful dimen¬ 
sions for punching or drilling and has substituted there¬ 
for something which is placed in its proper position and 
stuck there. The future of electric welding as applied to 
ships, will in the writer’s opinion, he determined largely 
by the attitude and general information and knowledge 
which the designers are able to obtain in connection with 
welding. 

Any one will recognize that it is a much simpler method 
in making up details for vessel construction and fittings 
to show any specific item located on an assembly drawing 
with no necessity for detailing the drilling or punching 
to be carried out in the shops, when it is considered that 
in an ordinary vessel there may be from 500 to 5000 of 
these items on which detailed drilling or punching could 
be eliminated, and the items shown on the assembly draw¬ 
ing with a note “Weld” attached thereto or the proper 
standard symbol shown. The item of time saving in this 
branch alone is considerable. The same remarks, of 
course, will apply to all detail drawings which are pre¬ 
pared for the fabrication work in the shops. The entire 
elimination of the detailing, and the substitution therefor 
of the “Weld” or its equivalent, would effect the same 
result in time saving. 

FLEXIBILITY OF EQUIPMENT 

On the assumption that the designing engineers are 
properly acquainted with the flexibility and value of weld¬ 
ing in their work, the next step is to have on hand the 
proper equipment to carry out the work both at the shops 
and at the ships. The design of a proper layout and the 
purchase of equipment for use both at the ships and in 



ENLARGED VIEW OF SPOT WELD ON THIRTEEN-FOOT MAST 

ENGINEERS’ CLUB 


the shops is in most cases dependent upon the local condi¬ 
tions of the Yard affected. Hog Island Yard has been 
more or less fortunate in this respect, since the plant is 
new and had not progressed in construction to a point 
beyond which it could not be changed or modified to suit 
the conditions required by electric welding. Since local 
conditions will, in nearly all cases, govern the layout of 
a shipyard, perhaps the best thing to say about that would 
be to describe the system at Hog Island. 



ONE-MAN PORTABLE A. C. TRANSFORMER OUTFIT FOR ARC WELDING 

The general system at Hog Island is served by two 
66,000-volt, 60-cycle, 3-phase transmission lines termi¬ 
nating in a central sub-station of approximately 30,000 
KVA. capacity. Three-phase feeders are carried from 
this sub-station for lighting and power on the 3-phase, 
4-wire system with 4150 volts between phases. This 
permits the use of standard 2300-volt apparatus while 
retaining the advantages of the 4150-volt distributing 
system. 

In connection with the shops, these are located ap¬ 
proximately three-quarters of a mile from the main sub¬ 
station. The group occupies a space approximately 
1500x800 feet; a small sub-station is located near the 
center of the group. Power is stepped down from 4150 
volts, 3 phase to 440 volts, 3 phase. At this voltage it 
is used for all types of motors in the shops, cranes and 
one special case of direct-current motor generators for 
use with jib cranes. For welding, 440-volt power is dis¬ 
tributed to central cabinets located at convenient in¬ 
tervals on the walls of the shop. These cabinets con¬ 
tain fuses for usually about six or seven circuits. From 
these cabinets conduits are laid underground to various 
places in the shop and terminate in a 440-volt plug 
outlet. These outlets are located at sufficient intervals 
so that portable welders may be attached at any con¬ 
venient place near the work. 

In the Plate and Angle Correction shop there is in 


OF PHILADELPHIA 


15 














OF PHILADELPHIA 


ENGINEERS’ CLUB 

course of erection a very elaborate training center for 
welders. 1 his center was installed under the auspices of 
the Fleet Corporation and is capable of training 42 weld¬ 
ers simultaneously. It is expected to use this center not 
only for training welders but as a production point where 
repetition work can be advantageously carried out. 

The type of equipment which can best be used in the 
shops is also somewhat dependent upon the local condi¬ 
tions. The layout of Hog Island permits the use of either 



ONE-MAN PORTABLE D. C. ARC WELDING OUTFIT 


direct-current type of equipment or an alternating-current 
type from the same plugs. Either the direct current or 
alternating current types of welder can be attached to the 
outlets at any place on the whole system. The voltage is 
in all cases, however, 440 volts, so that if any of the 
resistance, reactance, series type of equipment is used, a 
transformer is necessary to reduce the voltage to a safe 
value. This type of equipment, as single portable units, 
has been given less consideration than others, due to the 
power wastage. 

DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS 

Coming now to the type and character of equipment 
for use on the vessels, local conditions again have con¬ 
siderable influence. If the ways are entirely protected 
from weather greater consideration can be given to port¬ 
able rotating types. If the ways are exposed the question 
resolves itself into one of several. Portable rotating 
machines can be used with protective covers; series re¬ 
sistance, reactance type machines may be used in water¬ 
proof cases with low voltage distribution, carried down 
the ways to a suitable termination. Alternating-current 
portable transformer types of welders can be used. In 
two of these cases, that is, the direct-current, portable 
rotating type with protective cover or the alternating cur¬ 


rent type, comparatively high voltage—that is, 440 volts— 
may be carried down the ways to a suitable termination, 
and the machines can be plugged in for use anywhere on 
the vessel. 

At Hog Island we have carried the 440-volt, 3-phase 
system directly down the ways on each side of the vessel. 
Four outlets have been provided per ship; the distance 
between the two outlets on each side being about 200 feet. 
In this way it is possible to use the same type of portable 
machines as is proposed for the shops, that is, either 
direct current or alternating current. 

Without discussing the relative merits of direct cur¬ 
rent versus alternating current as supplied either to the 
ship itself or in the shops, attention is called merely to the 
fact that the alternating-current type of machine which 
is now being used on the ships is light in weight, can be 
carried by two men, is not injured by any reasonable 
abuse, and will, as we know, produce satisfactory welds. 
The outlets as provided on the sides of the vessel are each 
capable of accommodating two welding machines; the 
maximum probable load, therefore, at the present time 
which could be accommodated per vessel would be eight. 
This could be added to to any reasonable degree without 
.great difficulty. 

The usual method of using types of machines either 
direct current or alternating current at the ship is to 
locate the welding machine within a reasonable distance, 
say 30 or 40 feet from the 440-volt plug outlet which 
is on the ways. The secondary lead is then carried from 
that point anywhere on the vessel. The method of hand¬ 
ling leads of this character about a vessel for lighting and 
power, air lines, etc., is more or less familiar. The weld¬ 
ing lead is carried in a similar manner, one terminal 
being attached to the hull of the vessel close to the welding 
machine. One difficulty with this method is, of course, the 
occasional adjustment to the welding current value. It 



D. C. MOTOR-GENERATOR SET FOR SUPPLYING EIGHT ARC WELDERS 


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ENGINEERS’ CLUB 

is considered the helper’s duty to take care of this at the 
demand of the welder. 

GOOD WELDS AND GOOD WELDERS 

Good electric welders have heretofore been compara¬ 
tively scarce due to the fact that electric welding has been 
almost exclusively used in railroad shops and a few similar 
places. Due to the efforts of the Electric Welding Com¬ 
mittee, it is expected that there will be a sufficient number 
of trained welders in the very near future to carry out 
practically any program which may be devised. Upon 
the men turned out by the Training Center of the Emer¬ 
gency Fleet Corporation depends to quite a large extent 
the future of electric welding. So many so-called welds 
have been presented to men unacquainted with the art, 
which have subsequently proven of absolutely no value, 
that the importance of good welders cannot be over¬ 
estimated. The writer personally has seen sufficient to 
indicate that, provided good welders can be obtained, good 
ships can unquestionably be produced. 

The illustrations indicate some of the welding which 
can be done in practically all shipbuilding yards. These 
sketches are more particularly applicable to the present 
“A” ships at Hog Island, the drawings for which had 
been quite largely completed and the work placed in the 
fabricating shops previous to the formation of the Electric 
Welding Committee. The result is that a large amount of 
labor had already been performed on these drawings 
and nothing was to be gained by substituting welding, 
except in a few special cases where partial fabrication 
had to be done on the vessel itself. In the case where 
holes have been drilled or punched in the shop, but where 
companion holes have to be made on the ship, the latter 
are being eliminated, the parts welded together, and the 
holes filled with welded material. In most cases this can 
be done at less than half the cost and time required to drill 
the holes. It is expected on the “B” vessels that prac¬ 
tically all of the items shown in the illustrations will be 
welded and designed as such, with most likely a very 
large increase in their number. 

The principal object of these sketches is to give an 
idea of the general parts where welding can be advan¬ 
tageously applied now. The direct question of how 
much time can be saved by welding methods as against 
the usual construction is, of course, dependent, first, upon 
the number of items welded, and, second, the character of 
the parts welded. Assuming the cost of labor to be the 
same per hour, and the power required for welding as 
equal to the power taken by the air or electric drill which 
normally would be used, it may be said, in general, that 
the time saving effected by welding the types of equipment 
which are shown in these illustrations would be not less 
than 70 per cent, of the time usually taken by old-estab¬ 
lished methods. The above figure, of course, is not 
intended to apply to a completely welded ship. 


OF PHILADELPHIA 

Fourth Discussion. 

THE COVERED-ELECTRODE PROCESS* 

By E. G. RIGBY 

Vice President, Quasi-Arc Weldtrode Company 

T HOUGH the covered-electrode process for electric 
welding was established a couple of years, and mak¬ 
ing steady progress in industrial manufactures and 
gradually making its way into the shipyards, it was not 
until after 1914, when the great war started and our dock¬ 
yards commenced to fill with damaged steamers and naval 
units crippled in their riveting and caulking as the result 
of vibration from gunfire, that the possibilities of electric 
welding as a means for their rapid and effective repair 
came to be realized. It was first taken up by the Royal 
Naval Dockyards, in a tentative way, but its successful 
application has now made it a most important part of 
every naval and private dockyard and shipbuilding plant. 
New and extended applications are coming into use every 
day. It was the writer’s privilege to be associated with 
the work during this period, so gaining an experience that 
would not otherwise have been possible, ranging from the 
welding of a battleship’s cast-steel stern frame, weighing 
upwards of 190 tons, broken in the launching, to the ordi¬ 
nary everyday jobs of welding angle-iron staples. 

In the English shipyards the covered-electrode process 
has been largely adopted for repairs of all kinds, in con¬ 
junction with the usual methods of rivetting and smithing, 
for welding inside and outside seams for watertightness 
in place of caulking, reinforcing corroded plates in ships’ 
bottoms, for oil tanks, bulkheads, cutting holes and weld¬ 
ing studs in armor-plating for the attachment of bulges 
giving protection against torpedo attack. 

In new construction work it has included the entire 
welding of sea-going hulls in place of riveting. In this, 
however, the way is being carefully felt, since the work 
is only in the initial stages and so far has been confined 
to the building of cross-channel barges of large size used in 
carrying munitions to France. The first of these boats 
was launched on July 11, 1918, and was welded through¬ 
out by the covered-electrode process, no rivets being used. 
From the experience and confidence gained in this way 
designs will be made for more important ship construc¬ 
tions, but welding engineers are still of opinion that the 
time has not yet arrived when it would be safe to weld 
throughout a ship of any size. It is confidently expected 
by prominent Naval architects that the cost of material 
and labor in building a ship will be reduced by some 20 
per cent, when this time arrives. Even now 10 to 15 
per cent, can be saved b} using welding to the maximum 
of the limits already known to be safe. 

All the large munition, engineering and steel plants 
of England use electric welding for repairs and for making 
good defective and fractured castings; for welding the 

* Delivered in the Auditorium of the Engineers’ Club of Phila¬ 
delphia, August 24, 1918. 


OCTOBER. NINETEEN HUNDRED AND 


18 


EIGHTEEN 







ELECTRIC 

seams of buoys, submarine mines, aerial torpedoes, bombs, 
shells, etc. In this connection hundreds of women are 
now engaged in welding by hand and automatic machinery, 
and similar methods have now been adopted here in this 
country. 

The excellence of the work done by the covered- 
electrode process and the results of the many tests and 
experiments carried out by the British Admiralty and 
shipbuilders with it, has resulted in the authorities of 
Lloyd’s Registry taking the matter up, and they are at the 
present time engaged in making an elaborate series of 
tests and experiments with a view to determining its 
further application to the welded construction of ships, 
boilers, etc. These tests have now been proceeding for 
over six months, and it is hoped that the results will 
shortly be available and that a more liberal policy towards 
welding will then be adopted by the classification authori¬ 
ties. 

In the course of these experiments they have confirmed 
the conclusions the welding engineers had reached by 
actual experience, and it was found that the usual standard 
tension methods of testing welding were of little practical 
value, when considering the reliability of welding in con¬ 
nection with ship construction, where the stresses are 
almost wholly of a continuous alternating nature. It has 
long been established that metals, and particularly welds, 
will break under alternate stress at very much less than 
their elastic limits under either tension or compression. 
Welds, which are hard and brittle, and which have little 
or no elasticity, are manifestly not suitable to withstand 
stresses of this nature, or to withstand the shock stresses 
which often may be due to collisions or falling weights, 
which permanently strain the structure beyond its elastic 
limits. Tests are now being devised by the Classification 
authorities, and it is expected that they will insist that all 
welding processes and welding material to be used in ship¬ 
building shall be material or methods approved by them 
as having passed their tests. The requirements will prob¬ 
ably be a reasonable resistance to breakage by alternate 
stressing, and that the welds shall withstand the shock of 
a weight dropped from a height sufficient to permanently 
deflect the joint without cracking it; and the sooner indis¬ 
criminate welding with any old material or operative is 
stopped the better it will be for all concerned. Hitherto, 
because of the poor results obtained by former methods, 
they have disallowed the use of autogenous or fusion 
welding in any joints carrying tensile stresses, while per¬ 
mitting it in some places not coming under stress, or where 
a failure in the weld would not be vital. 

The wider adoption of electric welding in shipbuild¬ 
ing, wherever it can now be usefully employed, is a matter 
of supreme importance at the present time when the de¬ 
mand for tonnage is so great and urgent. In addition to 
the large reduction in weight of material for a given 
strength due to dispensing with the angle frame attach¬ 
ments, laps and rivets, there is an important economy in 
the lighter weight of plating which may be used owing 
to the fact that joints or seams of greater efficiency can 

ENGINEERS’ CLUB 


WELDING 

be made by welding. It also brings in its train a reduction 
of the necessary man power connected with the skilled 
trades in punching, rivetting, caulking and smithing, and 
a large saving in time and plant equipment as compared 
with present methods of construction. 

ADVANTAGES OF ELECTRIC WELDING 

The superiority of electric welding over gas and fire 
welding is consequent upon the extremely localized char¬ 
acter of the heat generated by the electric arc, thereby 
resulting in a smaller area of the disturbance, and also 
in the elimination of the necessity for any pre-heating 
of the work to be welded. The difficulty of localizing the 
heat in gas welding is liable to lead to imperfect welding 
at certain places of junction, owing to such places not 
having been brought to a welding temperature; and has 
the further disadvantage (owing to the wide area over 
which the heat is diffused), that the welds are usually lef; 
in a condition of greater stress, due to the contraction of 
the cooling metal. 

DEFECTS OF FORMER ELECTRICAL METHODS 

Fusion welding by electrical energy has been hitherto 
effected either by means of the carbon arc or by using 
plain iron rods as electrodes. Such welds are frequently 
deteriorated by pitting, due to the particles of slag which 
is formed in the fusion, adhering to the surfaces, and 
oxidation due to the fused metal, exposed to the atmos¬ 
phere, absorbing oxygen which reacts and combines with 
the carbon in the steel to form gas, and with iron to form 
oxide, resulting in brittleness and porosity and breaking 
up the structure of the metal. 

The importance of forming a joint which contains no 
trace of oxide is so great as to deserve particular emphasis. 
Not only does the presence of oxide greatly reduce the 
strength of the weld and destroy its elastic limits, but 
it renders the joint peculiarly liable to corrosion, and in 
view of the importance which the subject of corrosion 
bears to that of welding, especially in shipbuilding or ex¬ 
posed joints, the following points are of interest: 

1. Fundamentally corrosion is electrolytic in character 
and depends on the difference in potential of contiguous 
areas. 

2. Commercial iron and steel contain areas which in 
the presence of an electrolyte (which may be merely at¬ 
mospheric moisture) are capable of forming voltaic cir¬ 
cuits, the necessary conditions being afforded by the pres¬ 
ence of small particles of impurities, or by local conditions 
of strain in the metal itself. 

3. These impurities or strains give rise to areas of 
higher electrolytic potential, and form the electro-positive 
points which are first attacked by the corroding agent. 
Thus in a caulked joint corrosion will commence at the 
caulking, and similarly a rivetted joint will be attacked 
around the rivet head, owing to the local strains in the 
metal at these points. 

4. In a welded joint, if the metal at the weld be less 

OF PHILADELPHIA 


19 


ENGINEERS’ CLUB 

pure than the surrounding metal, the weld will be first 
attacked. Similarly, if the added metal be not homo¬ 
geneous, local differences in potential in the weld itself 
will cause corrosion at the weld. 

COVERED-ELECTRODE PROCESS 

This process is entirely different in method and result 
from the Bare-Wire-Metallic, or carbon-arc fusion pro¬ 
cesses. It is more rapid and perfect, owing to the fact 
that the heat introduced into the weld is automatically 
governed by the nature of the special electrode, the cover¬ 
ing of which in the solid state is a non-conductor, and in 
its molten state a good conductor of electric current. As 
a secondary conductor the slag automatically maintains 
electrical connection between the work and the metallic arc 
of the electrode, serving to confine and maintain the direc¬ 
tion and length of the arc, thus necessitating less skill on 
the part of the operator to hold a continuous arc. 

In operation, electrical contact is made by touching 
the work with the end of the electrode held vertically, thus 
allowing current to pass and an arc to form. The elec¬ 
trode, still kept in contact with the work, is then dropped 
to an angle, when the arc is immediately destroyed, owing 
to the special covering passing into the igneous state. The 
action once started, the electrode melts at a uniform rate 
so long as it remains in contact, and leaves a seam of metal 
perfectly diffused into the work, the covering material 
forming a slag, floats, and spreads over the surface of the 
weld as it is made. 

COVERED ELECTRODES 

These electrodes are composed of a metallic core, with 
a covering of blue asbestos yarn, which is a ferrous 
silicate, and in fusing acts as a reducing agent, and by 
excluding the atmosphere from the fused metal effectually 
prevents oxidation of the deposited metal. The yarn is 
coated with sodium silicate, aluminum silicate, or the like 
to vary the fusing temperature of the asbestos yarn. 

This covering forms a fusible insulating casing around 
the metal core of such thickness that the metal core is 
supported by it, when in contact with the work, at the 
proper distance, and thus to a large extent eliminates the 
factor of manual dexterity in maintaining an arc of the 
proper length while the electrode is fusing. In addition 
to the fusible insulating covering, the electrode has com¬ 
bined with it a small quantity of a different metal capable 
of exerting a strong reducing action, that is a metal such 
as aluminum having a strong affinity for oxygen at the 
temperature at which the welding takes place. 

Aluminum is admirable for the purpose, and is applied 
in the form of a fine wire wrapped in the blue asbestos 
covering. The aluminum, as it fuses with the metallic 
core of the electrode, absorbs the small amount of oxygen 
which may be present in the slag, and so prevents oxida¬ 
tion of the fusing metals. The aluminum formed readily 
combines with, and passes away with, the slag, and so 
produces, in the hands of a competent welder, a homo- 


OF PHILADELPHIA 

geneous deposit in the weld. Owing to its reducing action, 
it also preserves to a considerable extent the original 
carbon content of the steel from the oxidation which 
usually occurs in fusion. 

CUTTING WITH COVERED ELECTRODES 

Steel plates or castings can be readily cut by the elec¬ 
trodes and this feature is exceedingly useful when the 
oxygen blowpipe is not available. The method of pro¬ 
cedure is to take a mild steel electrode, dip it in water, 
and with a relatively high current, apply the point of the 
electrode to the plate or piece to be cut. The point of the 
electrode must be moved quickly up and down through 
the thickness of the plate, and the molten metal allowed 
to drop. 

THE EQUIPMENT FOR COVERED-ELECTRODE WELDING 

The equipment for this process of arc-welding is very- 
simple and relatively inexpensive. Any source of current 
supply either A. C. or D. C., at a pressure of 100-110 
volts may be utilized, and the maximum amount of cur¬ 
rent used by any one operator will not exceed 200 amperes 
for the heaviest welding or cutting operations. 

THE NECESSITY FOR TRAINING OPERATORS 

The rapid and wide adoption of electric welding in 
England and France, as also in this country, brought about 
by the necessities of the war situation, has led to a great 
demand for operators, and the irregular quality of the 
work produced, as the result of improper methods of 
preparation, and of employing partially-trained workmen, 
directs attention to the reason why electric welding has 
been so long in taking the prominent place in construc¬ 
tional work which its merits deserve. 

Hitherto it has been the practice to hold out the 
statement that, by adopting electric arc welding, any 
handy man could do this welding work. While this may 
be true as regards some class of work more or less auto¬ 
matic, it certainly does not apply to such work as is 
found necessary in shipbuilding, or the welding required 
in the general and repair work of an engineering work¬ 
shop. There has been no recognized trade of electric 
welding and no proper means of instruction for electric 
welders. 

In the case of gas welding, which hitherto has had 
the field almost to itself, the trade has been better 
organized, and some attention has been paid to properly 
instructing workmen, and literature on the subject is 
plentiful. 

In electric welding, however, it was usual to buy an 
outfit, turn it over to a handy man and expect him to turn 
out good work, right from the start, without instruction. 

If he failed, electric welding methods got the blame, and 
the outfit was put aside. This is the case! even to-day. 
Welding with the electric arc is a trade of some skill, 


s. 


20 


OCTOBER, NINETEEN HU 


NDRED AND EIGHTEEN 


ELECTRIC WELDING 


and requires both practice, to acquire the manual dex¬ 
terity to manipulate it properly, and instruction in the 
proper use of the apparatus employed, and the control 
and regulation of the current necessary to perform any 
given piece of work. Both the .size of the electrode used 
and the mass of the work will vary in different jobs, thus 
necessitating different current flows and amounts of heat, 
as well as different methods of preparing the work, with 
all of which the operator should be familiar. 

Such knowledge is only elementary, but it is very 
necessary, to enable the operator to make any intelligent 
use of electric welding. Electric welding requires not 
only skill, but also a great deal of practice and experi¬ 
ence; and it is just as sensible to expect a handy man to 
do consistent work with it, without instruction and prac¬ 
tice, as to put the same man to a blacksmith’s fire and 
expect him to make first-rate forgings at the first attempt. 

Failures are not always the fault of the workman; it 
is just as necessary to provide him with proper appliances 
and proper electric current conditions, as to provide the 
blacksmith with a suitable forge, fire and fuel. The writer 
has frequently been called to yards, even in this country, 
where complaints have been made that the welding was 
not satisfactory, and found that the trouble was wholly 
because the proper current conditions had not been pro¬ 
vided. In one late case here, where a maximum of 110 
volts was stipulated, the current was found to be 220 volts, 
and in addition the circuit was so overloaded that only 
the smallest diameter electrodes could be fused, and that 
only intermittently. One might just as well expect his 
blacksmith to weld 6-inch angles and give him a rivet¬ 
heating fire to work with. 

Soon welding by means of the electric arc will super¬ 
sede many of the riveted applications of to-day; and 
designers of ships and structural work will re-arrange 
their details to suit it, so soon as they have confidence 
that they can get operators able to make consistently good 
welded work that compares favorably with the results of 
the tests and experiments that have already been carried 
out. 

In Great Britain these facts are now being recognized. 
Most of the large shipyards and electric-welding com¬ 
panies have arranged special classes and training shops 
to give men proper instruction and practice under com¬ 
petent welders before sending them out to do work in the 
yards. It usually takes three or four weeks to acquire the 
necessary skill to handle the electrode properly in the vari¬ 
ous positions in which the operator will be called upon to 
work, and sometimes longer to acquire enough experience 
to know whether the work he is doing is sound or 
otherwise. 

CONDITIONS REQUIRED FOR GOOD WELDING 

The, idea at present seems to be fairly prevalent that 
the principal value of electric welding in a shipyard is to 
cover up mistakes, and that it can be used to make an 
efficient welded joint no matter what its shape or width 
may be, so long as there is a crack or gap into which 


metal can be melted. This is fallacious and should be 
discouraged. As an instance, we were lately asked by 
the foreman of the welders in a shipyard, to whom we 
were making a demonstration of our plant, to weld up a 
gap left by a shortage between two plates, which he had 
filled up by jamming a row of punch burrs into the gap, 
and when we objected he told us “that is the way we do 
it.” Slipshod methods of this kind will have to go, if 
electric welding is to be recognized as an essential part 
of the shipbuilding industry, and the inspectors of the 
Classification Societies are doing good work by their con¬ 
servative attitude while this state of affairs exists. 

Long seams and joints such as are necessary in welded 
ship construction, require careful consideration by the 
engineer, who will study the effects of expansion and con¬ 
traction and make provision for it. ' Mechanically, such a 
seam is only a matter of careful intelligent assembly, just 
as is required for riveting; the edges of the joining plates 
must be prepared to shape with the same accuracy and 
care as the rivet holes now are; the various parts must 
be assembled, with the meeting edges of the plates in the 
positions they are to occupy permanently, by means of 
an ample number of temporary service bolts, hook bolts, 
male brackets or the like, exactly in the same way as for 
rivetting. The holes required for the assembly will be 
filled up with studs welded in after the seam weld is 
completed. 

When the assembly is complete, the plates should be 
tacked together at intervals by short welds, particularly 
at the ends, and to any frames with which they are to 
connect. The seam should be welded first along the bot¬ 
tom of the V with a small electrode and filled up after¬ 
wards with one or more runs of welding as may be 
required. The assembly bolts should be left in position 
wherever possible till the weld is completed. The weld 
should be inspected between each run of welding, and 
any bad or doubtful places cut out with a diamond-pointed 
air chisel before the next layer is put down. This gives 
a check on the welder as well as his work. 

THE APPLICATION OF ELECTRIC WELDING IN SHIP 
CONSTRUCTION 

When autogenous welding was first introduced it was 
doubtless thought that it could replace without further 
difficulty the existing methods of connecting plates and 
so forth by rivets. Autogenous welding, however, either 
with a hot flame or with electrodes has been known in 
practice now for a great many years, and its applications 
have become very varied, but still it has not yet displaced 
the method of riveting employed in large metallic struc¬ 
tures such as ships, for joining together plating and frame 
members. It may well be that in a short time electric 
welding will enable this advance to be made. The pur¬ 
pose, however, of this paper is to draw attention to cer¬ 
tain particular methods of employing electric welding in 
ship construction, which render such welding methods 


ENGINEERS’ CLUB OF PHILADELPHIA 


v 


21 


ENGINEERS’ CLUB OF PHILADELPHIA 


applicable and practically advantageous for these pur¬ 
poses, and it will be realized that it is necessary to deal 
with the problem of ship construction in detail, applying 
welding first in the manner which is most advantageous, 
in order to ascertain its practical advantages, and to test 
its utility under all service conditions. The importance 
in the writer’s view of the designs to which attention is 
now called, resides in the fact that they are the first, as 
far as is known, in which welding as applied to practical 
ship construction is considered in detail from the engi¬ 
neering point of view, while the designs have the further 
advantage that they can be tested without departing in 
any important respect from existing plans and practice 
in ship design, so that no practical risks are involved. 

ELECTRIC WELDING AS APPLIED TO SHIP’S DECK STRUCTURES, 
BULKHEAD STRUCTURES, ETC. 

The design shown in sketch No. 1 relates to deck con¬ 
structions, bulkhead constructions and the like. In ship 
construction there are always frame members, usually of 
channel-or Z-section at intervals of about two or three feet 
apart inside the plating of the sides, and in order to build 
in the deck it is necessary to cut the deck so as to fit over 
the frame members. Angle-iron collars are forged to fit 
inside the channels of the frame members, around said 
members, and along the plating between them, the collars 
being riveted to the ship’s plating and the frame mem¬ 
bers, and riveted also to the decks. It is usually required 
to make bulkheads and partitions also to fit against the 
ship’s _sides in the same way by the use of angle-irons 
fitted around and between any brackets and stringers, and 
i iveted to the plating and the bulkheads. Then it is neces¬ 
sary to make such decks and bulkheads watertight by 
caulking the joint lines between these and the decks, and 
all the rivet heads, but even so, it is almost impossible to 
caulk every joint effectively, particularly around the longi¬ 
tudinal stringers and so forth. The result is that there 
is always a certain amount of leakage which may steadily 
become worse, owing to the inevitable relative movements 
due to the working of the ship, and also creaking is liable 
to occur due to relative movements, particularly against 
and around the frame members. The object of the pres¬ 
ent design is to provide an alternative method of fitting 
and fixing decks, bulkheads and the like in ships, which 
will overcome these disadvantages with a notable saving 
in labor, material and deadweight. 

Figure 1 shows in elevation a portion of the plating at 
the side of a ship and a portion of the deck in section, 
while 

Figure 2 shows a plan of Figure 1; 

Figure 3 is a detailed view showing a section of the 
line A-B of Figure 2, and 

Figure 4 shows a section on the line C-D of Figure 2. 

In the drawings, a is the ship’s plating, for example, 
at one side of the ship, b are the frame members extend¬ 
ing upwardly and downwardly, and c is the deck to be 
inserted. Between each frame member and the next an 





angle-iron bracket d is fitted, being held in position against 
the ship’s plating a by welding deposits as at e, Figure 1, 
in notches cut in the vertical webs of the brackets, and by 
welding deposits / at the chamfered ends of said brackets. 
One object of cutting the notches e and welding up to 
the tips thereof, is to insure that the brackets d are sup¬ 
ported near the top, and will not therefore be liable to 
be torn away from the plating by any weight resting on 
the deck, which in turn bears upon the projecting tops 
of the brackets. The notches may be cut in the webs 
of the brackets d at intervals of say 6 inches apart, and 
they may be of any convenient shape, but an inverted 
V-shape with a rounded end is generally the most suit¬ 
able in practice. The brackets are not required to extend 
at each end up to the upright frame members b, but they 
may be cut in lengths from straight angle bars so as to 
fill approximately the gaps between said frame members 
b. The tops of the brackets d are at the level to support 
the deck directly. Small additional brackets n may also 
be applied to the faces of the frame members b, at the 
same level as the angle-iron brackets d in order to support 
the deck at the faces of said frame members. The 
brackets n are welded to the frame members b by fillets 



OCTOBER, NINETEEN HUNDRED 


22 


AND EIGHTEEN 



















































ELECTRIC 

of deposited metal o, as indicated in Figure 1. The ir¬ 
regular internal sections of the frame members b are filled 
in at the level of the deck c with insertions g, Figure 2, 
these being welded into the section of the frame members 
b by fillets of welding metal h around the inside of the said 
frame members and against the ship’s plating a. The 
insertions g when fitted in this way fill up the gaps in the 
frame members at the level of the deck c, leaving a plain 
or simple non-reentrant section around which the deck 
can be fitted easily and closely. 

The deck may be assumed to be made up of metal 
plating which is riveted or welded together in any con¬ 
venient manner. It may be treated as if it were a single 
plate for the purposes of this design. When the deck 
is inserted it fits against the sides of the ship’s plating 
and around the brackets b and insertions g as shown, and 
it is first welded down on to the tops of the brackets d, 
and the brackets n also if desired, by welding deposits 
applied as at k in notches or slots cut at convenient in¬ 
tervals in the edges of the deck, Figure 2. Alternatively 
or in addition, the deck might be welded to the flanges 
of the brackets from beneath by fillets of welding metal 
deposited at / in Figure 3, but this is not generally neces¬ 
sary. Then a line or fillet of welding metal is deposited 
all round the edge of the deck as indicated at m, both 
against the ship’s plating a, and around the brackets b 
and insertions g. In this way the deck is completely 
welded and hermetically sealed in place in the ship, so 
that no subsequent caulking or labor of any kind is re¬ 
quired upon it to make it watertight. 

Water might still find its way between the frames b 
and the ship’s plating a (unless they were packed with 
jointing material which is not permanent, and in order 
to render impossible leakage of water at this point it is 
preferred to cut slots in the plating a from the outside 
adjacent to the frame members at the level of the decks, 
and to weld the frame members and plating together 
through such slots as at p, Figures 2 and 4. In this way 
a complete line of welding is formed at the deck level 
along the ship’s plating. 

The fitting of bulkheads in place is effected in ex¬ 
actly the same manner as for the decks, upright angle 
brackets being welded to the ship’s plating, and the 
bulkheads being welded to such brackets and to the 
plating. If Figures 1 and 2 are regarded as being 
turned through 90° they will represent the insertion of 
such a bulkhead, the frame members b being then hori¬ 
zontal frame members which occur at intervals inside 
the ship’s plating. 

As the necessity for the drilling of rivet holes in fitting 
the decks and bulkheads is entirely eliminated, and as 
electric welding can be done by a single person, whereas 
riveting required the simultaneous labor of three men as 
a rule, it is evident that this method of inserting the decks 
and bulkheads may introduce an important economy in 
labor, in addition to its other advantages. 

ENGINEERS’ CLUB 


WELDING 

THE APPLICATION TO KEEL PLATES, PARTITION PLATES, ETC. 

This design (see sketch No. 2) relates in particular 
to the method of inserting the vertical keel plates, the 
longitudinal partition plates, the intermediate cross-parti¬ 
tions or plates, and the inner shell which is carried on or 
secured to the framework formed by such plates. Hither¬ 
to it has been usual to secure the vertical keel plates 
and partitions in place by means of angle-iron brackets 
riveted to the keel and the ship’s bottom plating, and tq 
secure the inner shell plating of the ship to such vertical 
plates by brackets riveted to said plates and to the inner 
shell. In order to make the structure water- and oil-tight 
it is necessary to caulk every joint and all the rivets, but 
even when the ship is new the joints are rarely fluid-tight 
throughout, and after a time they are sure to loosen more 
owing to vibration and to racking stresses. 





These difficulties can be avoided, and an improved 
structure is provided by a method of welding, whereby 
the whole labor of riveting and all necessity for caulking 
is avoided. It might have been thought that it would be 
sufficient to employ angle irons as before, and merely to 
weld them instead of riveting them in place, and this 
has been previously proposed, but though this might pre¬ 
sent some advantages over riveting, it does not provide 
nearly so strong or effective a structure as is provided by 
the construction shown in this plan. 

Figure 1 illustrates in perspective, and partly broken 
away, a portion of a ship’s bottom and inner shell plating 
or false bottom, with the intervening keel and partition 
plating. 

Figure 2 shows in perspective a slight modification. 
Figures 3 and 4 are two views at right angles showing 
another modification. 

Referring to Figure 1, the ship’s bottom plating is 
marked a, and the inner shell plating b. A portion of the 

OF PHILADELPHIA 


23 




















ENGINEERS’ CLUB 

vertical keel plating is seen at c, while d is another longi¬ 
tudinal line of partition plating, and e is the intermediate 
cross-partition plating. The vertical keel plate c, and the 
longitudinal partitions d are laid along the bottom plating 
a of the ship, and are fillet-welded thereto along their 
bottom edges at both sides, as indicated at f. The trans¬ 
verse intermediate partition plates e are similarly placed 
and welded, both to the ship’s bottom plating as at f, and 
also to the longitudinal partitions c and d, as seen at g. 
The joints so made would not effectively resist racking 
stresses, but the necessary strength and rigidity is ob¬ 
tained separately, by making struts h of angle- or T-iron, 
and welding them at intervals to the vertical keel plates 
c and partition plates d at the one end, and to the ship’s 
bottom plating a at the other end. The struts may be 
shaped from suitable section irons, with ends at the proper 
angle to the middle portions in order to lie flat against the 
plates to which they are to be welded; and the welding 
is done either around the said ends of the struts as indi¬ 
cated at k, or through slots or notches cut therein, or in 
both of these ways. Instead of struts li, plain gusset 
plates t may be used, these being cut from metal plates 
and welded around their ends as shown at u in Figures 
3 and 4. The term “struts” where used hereinafter, is to 
be read as including such gusset plates. In the welding 
of these struts, owing to the fact that the struts are of 
much less mass than the plates, they become more highly 
heated, and therefore expand more than the plates. On 
cooling after the welding, therefore, the struts h or t, 
which extend at an angle from the vertical keel and parti¬ 
tion plates c and d to the bottom plating a of the ship as 
shown, tend to contract more than the plates, with the 
result that all the struts are left in tension while the 
vertical keel and partition plates c and d are in compres¬ 
sion between the ends of the struts and the ship’s bottom 
plating a. Hence a rigid trussed structure is formed 
which is admirably adapted to resist all racking, bending 
or vibrational stresses. The struts may be placed in pairs 
at opposite sides of the vertical plates as shown, or in 
staggered positions as may be preferred, and will be fixed 
at intervals apart depending upon their strengthened sec¬ 
tion. Similar struts i may be arranged and welded in 
horizontal positions at the corners where the longitudinal 
and transverse partition walls meet. 

It will be seen that the structure depends to a large 
extent for its rigidity on the struts, and that these play no 
part in rendering it fluid-tight. The fillet welds f along 
the lower edges of the plates and at g between the longi¬ 
tudinal and intermediate partition plates, serve this latter 
purpose in an entirely effective and permanent manner, 
while at the same time they prevent any possibility of 
movement or shearing between the vertical plates c, d and 
e and the ship’s plating a. 

The vertical keel plates c, the longitudinal partitions d 
and transverse intermediate partitions e form a structure 
or framework which provides a number of oblong cells 
or spaces, and instead of forming the inner plating or 


OF PHILADELPHIA 

bottom b of the ship so as to lie over this, the inner plat¬ 
ing is fitted as follows: Angle brackets / are welded to 
the vertical keel and partitions c, d and e at intervals, 
preferably by notching or slotting the vertical webs of the 
brackets at suitable points as at m and welding the edges 
thereof to the vertical plates, and then filling in the notches 
or slots with deposits of welding metal so as to provide 
solid supporting pieces. The tops of the brackets l are 
disposed the plating-thickness below the tops of the parti¬ 
tions c, d and e, and templates are cut to fit in the cells, 
the inner plating b being made up in complete sections 
therefrom, one section for each cell of the partition struc¬ 
ture. The inner plating sections b may have chamfered 
edges as shown in Figure 1, and when they are inserted, 
deposits of welding metal are made at n to fill in the V- 
shaped spaces and to weld the plating b to the vertical 
keel and partition plating c, d and e. The plates b are 
also preferably slotted or notched at intervals at or near 
their edges as at c, and are welded to the tops of the 
brackets / by deposits at these points before the edges of 
the plates are welded all round as at n to the vertical plat¬ 
ing c, d and e. 

In the alternative construction shown in Figure 2, the 
brackets / are such of a height that the inner plating b 
when inserted, stands up half-proud of the vertical plating 
c, d and e. After the welds in the notches c, holding the 
plating b to the brackets are made, fillet welds are then 
made around the entire edges of each section of the inter¬ 
plating b, upon the tops of the partitions c, d and e, and 
these joint lines are finally filled in also with welding metal 
as at p. The result is to form an inner plating for the 
ship, in sections b, which are completely welded to the 
partition walls c, d and e, all round the same, and are also 
welded one to another along their edges, so that a very 
strong and rigid structure is provided which is completely 
fluid-tight, without the necessity of any caulking. 

The structure is substantially the same for the parti¬ 
tion plates and inner plating of the ship as far as these 
are carried up the ship s sides past the bdge keels, except 
that in the dies there is not the same necessity for making 
the longitudinal partitions all fluid-tight, and one line or 
fillet of welding on the upper edge of each partition plate 
may suffice, while the flanges of the struts on which the 
plates rest may be welded from above to the partition 
plates through slots therein. 

The construction set forth has an advantage in saving 
dead weight, and consequently in reducing the displace¬ 
ment of the ship. 

INNER PLATING, MORTICE AND TENON JOINTS 

In this construction, sketch No. 3, the inner plating, 
floors and so forth, are applied in lengths, extending over 
the partitions, while fitting thereon by mortice and tenon 
joints which are secured by welding. In addition, where 
required, watertightness may be secured by fillet welding 
along the angles or junctions between the partitions and 
the plating, or along portions thereof not already welded. 


24 


OCTOBER 


NINETEEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN 


ELECTRIC 


WELDING 


The partition plates are formed with projection at 
intervals constituting tenons. This may be done before 
the plates are inserted, by punching out the intermediate 
portions at the inner edges of the plates so as to leave the 
required number of projecting tenons; or in any other 
convenient manner according to circumstances. One pos¬ 
sible alternative is to weld tenons to the tops of the parti¬ 
tions, or into slots cut therein. When the partition plating 
is complete, with such tenons projecting therefrom, the 
inner plating in convenient lengths is laid thereon, having 
been shaped and punched or slotted in advance with mor¬ 
tice slots to fit over the tenons on the partition plating. 
The slots are made substantially longer than the tenons 
for reasons stated below, so that great accuracy is not 
required in cutting. The welding is then effected by de¬ 
posits of welding metal in the slots around the tenons and 
at each end thereof. In order to hold down the plates 
during this welding any convenient forms of temporary 
attachment devices may be used, for example hook bolts 



engaging in the limber holes and other holes in the parti¬ 
tion plating may be used, these bolts projecting through 
holes in the plating to be welded on, and being tightened 
by nuts from above. The hook bolts can be removed 
when the welding is completed around the tenons in the 
mortice slots, and the holes where the hook bolts have 
been placed can be filled up if required, for example, in 
the case of oil-tight or watertight plating, with plugs 
driven in and welded over, or in any other convenient 
manner. 

It is important that the mortice slots should be sub¬ 
stantially longer than the tenons in order to enable the 
welding metal to connect the partition members to the 
plating throughout the thickness of the latter; the slots 
are also wider than the tenons, to allow of welding along 
each side thereof, in a V-shaped space or otherwise. Each 
tenon may be divided into two or more projections with 
welding between them if preferred. The inner plating, 
tank tops, floor and the like, can be made by this method 
in sections of any convenient length or breadth, and se¬ 
cured upon or against the partition plating by welded 
mortice and tenon connections, both longitudinally and 
transversely. One section of the plating can be connected 
to another by welded butt joints, welded lap joints or 
welded butt strap joints, whichever may be most conveni¬ 
ent or suitable in any particular case. When the con¬ 


nection between the inner shell plating, floors or tank tops 
and the partition plating is to be made watertight at any 
particular line of connection where mortice and tenon 
joints have been made, a fillet of welding metal will pre¬ 
ferably be deposited at the under side of the plating 
against the partition walls, either throughout the whole 
length or only in the intervals between the tenons. 

The method of mortice and tenon welding provides 
the strongest and simplest form of joint, and involves 
comparatively little welding, much welding being of an 
easy character as it is in slots open above. 

Where the ends or sides of lengths or sections of 
the plating are to be connected together in position not 
coinciding with a partition wall, it depends upon the 
strength required in the joint which type of joint shall 
be adopted. A plain abutting joint is sufficiently strong 
for many purposes, the abutting edges of the plates being 
preferably cut to a V-shape to receive the weld of de¬ 
posited metal. In the case of a lap joint which will give 
greater strength as a rule, the edge of one plate will gen¬ 
erally be joggled to overlap the other, and a complete 
fillet weld will be run along the overlapping edge at the 
top, while, if necessary, welds at intervals may be pro¬ 
vided along the exposed edge from beneath, or even a 
complete fillet underneath. This will rarely be necessary. 
If a butt strap is used applied from below, it will be held 
up generally by service bolts at a few points, the plate 
edges to be joined being preferably spaced a short dis¬ 
tance apart so that the slot thus left can be filled in 
with deposited welding metal uniting the butt strap to 
both plates, and uniting the plates directly. The service 
bolt holes are afterwards filled in with welded plugs or 
otherwise, when required. 

However the plates are jointed together, they are 
secured by the mortice and tenon joints in a very 
strong and effective manner to the partition plating, while 
they are not weakened by rivet holes, and a substantial 
saving is effected in deadweight and in labor involved 
in construction. 


The remaining sketches, though illustrating very 
simple constructions, are the result of an immense amount 
of thought and numerous experiments arising from the 
exigencies of the British Dockyards in dealing with the 
necessary repairs to the many Naval units of all descrip¬ 
tions, which came into port after engagements, with their 
caulking and riveting all gone to pieces, caused by the 
vibration and shock stresses of heavy gunfire. 

Everyone knows the difficulties encountered and time 
required to make repairs in such cases by mechanical 
caulking, and the uselessness of caulking unless the rivets 
are first taken out, holes reamed, and new and larger 
rivets substituted. In many cases in the completed struc¬ 
tures this is practically impossible. The ships, however, 
were needed, and that with the least possible delay in 


« 


ENGINEERS’ CLUB 


OF PHILADELPHIA 


25 































ENGINEERS’ CLUB OF PHILADELPHIA 


dock, so some substitute for the older methods had to be 
found. 

It was here that arc-welding was finally resorted to, 
and to-day it is universally used by the Naval Dockyards, 
with very great effectiveness, both in saving of time and 
in efficiency. 


METAL PLATE STRUCTURES OF SHIPS, TANKS, ETC. 

The design shown in sketch No. 4, relates to metal 
plate structures of ships, tanks, and the like, which are 
required to be watertight. In structures of this char¬ 
acter which are liable to be subjected to heavy stresses, no 
caulking can be permanently effective, and it is liable to 
break down very quickly in structures such as plated 
vessels after heavy gun firing. What is required in order 
to render such a structure watertight, is to provide some 
form of elastic sealing medium which will cover all of 
the joints, and will not be destroyed by the maximum 
strains and deformations to which the plating structure 
is liable. There is no satisfactory elastic medium of a 
non-metallic nature which could be used, or which has 
been successfully applied to the purpose in view, and it 
is the object of this design to attain the result with a 
metallic structure, using methods of welding for securing 
the projecting sheets. 

Comparatively thin and flexible metal sheets are used 
which will cover the joint lines, the sheets being welded 
to the plating in order to eliminate all risk of leakage. 
In preparing sheets for the purpose rolled steel plates 
may be used of a comparatively thin gauge, for example, 
No. 12 gauge, and these sheets are annealed throughout 
in order that their consistency may be as uniform as pos¬ 
sible after welding. They are laid over the joint lines 
and are fillet-welded at their edges to the plates at each 
side of the joints. 

Figures 1 and 2 show riveted plating with com¬ 
paratively narrow steel strips a laid over the joint lines 
and welded at each side to the plates by means of de¬ 
posited fillet welds at b. Where one strip meets another 
over a plate joint, the end of the abutting strip is welded 
to the edge of the outer strip or to the plating as at c. 
Figure 1. In this example, the applied strips a may be 
only, say from 1 to 2 inches broad so that they will lie 
inside the lines of rivets d, as shown. The steel strips a 
can be,fed down against the surface of the plating as they 
are being welded, in the manner illustrated in Figure 3, 
the ends of successive strips being united by welding 
where more than one length of strip is required for a 
joint. The resultant structure is absolutely watertight 
and will withstand very high stresses without showing 
any signs of leakage. With stresses large enough to open 
the joints somewhat, the thin annealed steel strips can 
extend or bend transversely to the extent required‘with¬ 
out their welded edges breaking away. Even with no 
caulking between the edges of the plates of the structure, 
therefore, it is a great improvement on existing plating 

OCTOBER, NINETEEN H 



SKETCH 4 


structures as regards resistance to opening up of the joints 
and risk of leakage. The actual joint line may also be 
caulked, for example, at e, Figure 2, before the steel strip 
ir applied with a run of deposited welding metal when¬ 
ever this is considered desirable, and this will further 
strengthen the joint and increase its resistance to opening 
stresses. Mechanical caulking can also be used. 

I he applied strips a need not necessarily lie flat against 
the plating, but they may be buckled outwardly somewhat 
from it in order to allow freedom of expansion, or slightly 
waved or corrugated in a direction extending along the 
joint line. This is illustrated in Figure 5. If the rivet 
heads project, as in Figure 6, the steel strips may be bent 
inwardly at their edges beyond the rivet lines and welded 
there. This also provides an element of flexibility in the 

U N D R E D 


26 


AND EIGHTEEN 
























































ELECTRIC 

middle part of the strip which is held out at a little dis¬ 
tance from the surface of the plating. 

The edges of the covering strips may be also be let 
into recesses in the metal plating if desired, as indicated 
in Figure 7, but as a rule this should not be necessary as 
the fillet welds b at the edges will prevent any sharp 
corners being left. 

In any such cases as those of Figures 5, 6 and 7, 
wherein the strips are curved and extend away from the 
plating surface over part of their width, the ends of the 
strips may either be flattened down to enable them to be 
welded to the plating or to crossing strips, or such cross¬ 
ing strips may have their edges lifted to apply them to the 
ends of the first mentioned strips, whichever may be most 
convenient. 

ATTACHMENT OF FITTINGS TO HARDENED PLATE SURFACES 

This design relates to methods of securing attach¬ 
ments to iron or steel plating which is too hard at its 
surface to permit of drilling and inserting studs, bolts 
and so forth. 

Figure 1 shows in section the method of securing a 
stud in the plating. 

Figure 2 is a face view of one of the holes with a 
stud therein. 

Figure 3 shows a cross section on the line 3-3 of 
Figure 2. 

Figure 4 shows a jig for holding several studs ready 
for welding in place. 

Figures 5 and 6 are sectional views corresponding to 
Figure 1, showing subsequent stages in the operation. 

In the drawings, a represents a surface-hardened plate 
such as armor plating. In this the hardening extends 
say for one and a half inches inwards from the surface 
as indicated by the dotted line b. Nothing can be secured 
to this surface by welding, as the welding deposit, if 
applied, merely breaks away a portion of the hardened 
metal with it when any stress is applied to it. If, how¬ 
ever, the high-carbon steel at the surface could be pierced, 
the milder metal at the rear would serve for effecting 
a secure attachment by welding. This is carried out as 
follows: 

Holes are burnt or fused out at the required distance 
apart for studs, which will provide a secure attachment 
for the further plate or other object to be mounted on 
the hardened plate. For burning the holes through the 
hardened layer of metal the electrodes are preferably 
moistened in order that an oxidising action may take 
place, and a heavier electric current is used than is re¬ 
quired for effecting electric welding. In this way a series 
of holes are formed preferably of the shape indicated at 
c in Figures 1 to 3, and extending to a depth well beyond 
the plane indicated at b, where the surface hardening 
ceases. The holes are oval in form and undercut at the 
ends, so that when a stud such as d is laid in one of the 
holes, there will be space enough above and at each side 
of it for inserting and manipulating a welding electrode 
in the hole. A series of such studs is placed in the row 


WELDING 

of holes, and held in the right position for fitting in cor¬ 
responding holes in the object to be attached; the holding 
may be accomplished by the use of a suitable support or 
jig such as is indicated at e in Figure 4. Each hole c is 
then filled up solidly around the stud d with welding 
metal, built up from the rear, where it coalesces with 
the milder backing metal or the armor plate a, until a 
conical-ended block g of metal is formed, welding the 
stud d to the backing metal, and boring it into the hard¬ 
ened surface metal so that it cannot possibly pull out. 



The studs d are all preferably screw threaded, as indi¬ 
cated, and the object to be attached, for example a further 
plate f, is now applied, with its ready-formed holes fitting 
over the studs d as they project from the plate a. The 
holes in the plate / are chamfered out at the front as at 
h, Figure 5, and nuts k preferably formed with coned 
ends as shown in Figure 5, are now applied to all the 
projecting studs, and are screwed up tightly to secure the 
plate / firmly in position. The surfaces of the welds 
g are, of course, smoothed or filed flat if necessary, before 
the plate f is applied. 

Finally, the nuts k are removed one by one, and the 
annular spaces provided by the chamfered holes h are 


ENGINEERS’ CLUB OF PHILADELPHIA 


27 











































































ENGINEERS’ CLUB 

filled in with deposits of welding metal l, Figure 6, which 
draw the plate f even more tightly against the plate a 
as the heated studs d and the deposited metal cool. Re¬ 
moving the nuts k only one by one as the welds are made, 
prevents any risk of the stresses due to the heating and 
cooling in the welding operation distorting the plate / and 
so interfering with its proper positioning. When all the 
welds are made, or as each nut is removed and before the 
welding which replaces it is effected, the projecting ends of 
the studs d can be cut off flush or nearly so, leaving a 
finished attachment such as is seen in section in Figure 6. 

If the object f, which is secured, is a bracket or the 
like, it can be employed in turn for supporting any other 
object or plate which it is required to mount upon the 
hard-surfaced plating a. The holes e are not necessarily 
of the precise shape shown, and they might be circular 
and conical, for example, with the studs d placed at the 
center. This would usually necessitate the use of larger 
holes and would result in more labor and expenditure 
upon electrodes in the cutting and subsequent welding 
operation, so that holes of the general shape indicated are 
preferred. The undercutting is important in keying the 
welding deposits g in position, but it is of even greater 
importance to insure that each hole c extends beyond the 
very hard surface layer of the plate a into the milder 
metal at the rear, as otherwise no reliable attachment 
would be made. The studs d are not necessarily placed 
in straight rows, of course, but their number and disposi¬ 
tion will depend upon the form and mass of the object 
to be attached, or the stresses to be borne subsequently. 
For some purposes possibly it might be sufficient to leave 
the nuts k to support the attached object /, without re¬ 
placing them by welds such as l, but for most purposes 
such welds will be required to complete the attachment 
in a permanent manner, and to secure the object / in the 
strongest possible manner to the plating a. The inner 
ends of the studs d, instead of being cut off straight as 
indicated, might be chamfered or tapered to allow the 
welding metal to get behind them; or if preferred they 
might be slightly enlarged with the object of keying 
them in turn into the welding deposits g rather than de¬ 
pending entirely upon the welding together of the metal 
of the studs and of the deposits g to hold them. For most 
purposes plain ended studs d, as indicated, will be 
sufficient. 

In this matter a great deal of thought and considera¬ 
tion was given. Net protection was not very effective 
against torpedoboat attacks in the North Sea, and the 
proposition was made to attach to vessels what is known 
as bulges. These bulges are very ponderous attach¬ 
ments. They come above the waterline and extend 
some distance below, forming an air space about 8 or 10 
feet from the actual ship’s bottom at the waterline and 
below. When a torpedo struck these bulges, it was ex¬ 
ploded in passing through the air-tight outer portion and 
the force of the explosion was taken up or expended on 
the water that was confined between the sides of the ship 


OF PHILADELPHIA 

and the air-tight space on the outside and the energy was 
expended in forcing water through hose provided for its 
escape at the top of the bulge, so that when a ship was 
struck by a torpedo a fountain would rise as high as 
the boat, and it proved very effective in the protection 
of ships. Quite a large number of the ships were pro¬ 
vided with protection of this description. It used to take 
an enormous amount of time to make holes in the armor 
plate and the difficulty was to make any kind of an attach¬ 
ment or bracket or bulge arrangement to fix the bolts to. 
Direct welding was tried, with the result that the bolts 
simply pulled out the armor plates. Then it was at¬ 
tempted to burn holes in the plates, but the diffusion of 
heat was so great it caused the armor plates to crack 
where the heat was applied, and that method had to be 
abandoned. 

Finally the suggestion was made to cut a round hole 
with intensely local heat with a cold electrode. The plan 
was successfully tried, then tested, and adopted on all 
that type of protection, as indicated in the sketch. 


In conclusion, attention is called to the fact that 
the results of tensile tests go to show that a welded 
construction is easily made very much stronger than any 
form of riveted construction, and that there is hardly 
any comparison when one considers the necessity of re- 
lying on caulking for watertightness. 

If this were all there was to the story, one would 
wonder why there was any hesitation in adopting electric 
welding to the exclusion of riveting altogether. Unfor¬ 
tunately, it is not the whole story. Tensile tests throw 
but little light on the value or reliability of welding in 
ship construction when the stresses are wholly of a 
complex description in the nature of continuous alter¬ 
nating stress, under which the average weld will break 
down with stresses very much below their elastic limits, 
under either tension or compression, a condition which 
is far more pronounced with some of the systems and 
materials used in electric welding than others, and par¬ 
ticularly under a system permitting anybody to weld any¬ 
thing with anything. 

Now that the Classification Societies like Lloyd’s, the 
Electric Welding Committee of the Emergency Fleet Cor¬ 
poration, with the codperation of the National Research 
Department, the Engineering Staffs of the great Naval 
Dockyards and private shipbuilders both in England and 
America, are carrying on experiments and research, the 
old order of things will soon go. Only that kind of weld¬ 
ing and welding material that is scientifically approved 
and adopted by them will be permitted, and this under 
stiict mles and regulations; and only then can we expect 
to see electric welding come into its own, and the posi¬ 
tions of riveting and welding reversed in our shipyards. 


OCTOBER, NINETEEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN 


28 


/ 



ELECTRIC WELDING AS APPLIED TO STEEL 
SHIP CONSTRUCTION 


A series of discussions held under the auspices 
of the Electric Welding Branch of the Education 
and Training Section of the U. S. Shipping Board, 
Emergency Fleet Corporation. 


Intermediate stiffeners "fitted between 
botch webs on side coaming S 'x J'x s //& " 
carried to bottom of coaming 


Fifth Discussion 

A COMPARISON BETWEEN AMERICAN AND 
BRITISH PRACTICE IN ELECTRIC WELDING* 

By COMMANDER S. V. GOODALL 
Naval Constructor, British Navy 

W ITH respect to their attitude towards electric 
welding the various practical shipbuilders in 
America and Great Britain may be divided, 
roughly, into three classes. 

First: The very few who speak as though a riveted 
joint were the 
most sacred and 
efficient institu¬ 
tion ever con¬ 
ferred by Divine 
Providence upon 
unworthy man. 

Second: The 
very few (per¬ 
sonally, the 
writer has not 
met a single 
one) who speak 
and dream of 
rivetless ships 
and noiseless 
shipyards, peo¬ 
pled largely by 
women. 


Finally, there is the great majority of shipbuilders 
who are too busy to develop new, though promising, 
methods, but who will employ any new process as soon 
as they are convinced that this is worth doing. To these 
are commended the matter and spirit of this paper, and 
their attention called to the attitude of the British Ad¬ 
miralty, the United States Navy Department, Lloyd’s 
and the American Bureau. 

In October, 1917, not a very recent date, considering 
the rate at which scientific matters now progress, the 
British Admiralty called a conference of some of the 
most experienced constructors from various navy yards, 
and some of their recommendations were as follows: 

(1) Although the covered electrode, or quasi-arc, 
process of electric welding could not be advan¬ 
tageously adopted in all cases as a substitute for 
the present process of drilling, riveting, caulking, 
etc., yet its use would undoubtedly result in a great 
reduction in the labor involved in such processes. 

(2) While it was not considered that any ad¬ 
vantage would accrue 
from the application of 
this process to the pres¬ 
ent arrangements of riv¬ 
eted non-watertight laps, 



SKETCH 1.—MIDSHIP SECTION OF ARC-WELDED BARGE. LENGTH, 125' 9". BREADTH, 16' 4". DEPTH MOULDED, 7' 9". DEADWEIGHT 
CAPACITY, 200 TONS. FRAMES, 2#" X 2 l /t" X%" ANGLES. FLOORS, 7" X 3K" X %o" ANGLES. SHELL AND DECK PLATING, %’ TO % 0 ". SHELL PLATING 
JOGGLED AND LAPPED AT EDGES, FLUSH BUTTS WITH STRAPS. DECK PLATING STRAPPED BUTTS. 


* Delivered in the auditorium of the Engineers’ Club of Philadelphia, Wednesday, July 31, 1918. 


ENGINEERS’ CLUB OF PHILADELPHIA 


29 































































ENGINEERS’ CLUB 

butts, stiffeners, etc., all watertight work of this 
nature could probably be well and efficiently per¬ 
formed with economy in labor, by increasing the 
rivet spacing as much as possible, consistent with 
the proper closing of the work, and supplement¬ 
ing this by covered electrode arc welding to meet 
the requirements for strength and watertightness. 

(3) By this system the process of water-testing 



wouid be greatly facilitated, with a corresponding 
saving in time and labor. 

The United States Navy Department, Lloyd’s, and 
the American Bureau have sanctioned the use of elec¬ 
tric welding for angle staples, plate staples, and similar 
watertight work, in addition to its general use on such 
work as securing fittings, etc., to watertight bulkheads 
and decks, whereby not only are time and labor saved, 
but better watertightness is obtained. 

Passing now to specific examples of electric weld¬ 
ing, we will first speak of the American practice. It 
will be quickly seen that American and British prac¬ 
tice differ very considerably. In Great Britain the 
process invariably used is the quasi-arc, since British 
engineers have found the flux-covered electrode and 


OF PHILADELPHIA 

this system the best they have so far tried. We have, 
however, an open mind and a desire to reduce costs, so 
that any other system will find a fair field and no favor. 

AMERICAN WELDING PRACTICE 

The following extracts from letters which the writer 
has received from some of the leading shipyards in 
America may be illustrative of the typical jobs to which 
electric welding is applied in the United States: 

NEWPORT NEWS: 

We have been using electric welding for the past four 
years, and although it has been developed to quite an ex¬ 
tent, we feel that much more work can be done by this 
method, as soon as the various inspectors realize the full 
value of electric welding and will allow its more exten¬ 
sive use. 

Referring to your request for facts relative to the 
saving of time, labor and money which have been effected by 
the adoption of electric welding: The developments in con¬ 
nection with electric welding have been so rapid and the 
uses to which it has been put have been so extensive that 
we have not attempted to obtain comparative costs between 
this and other methods, having contented ourselves with the 
very evident economy obtained by the electric method. 

We are not in sympathy with the completely welded 
ship idea, but believe there is a happy medium limiting the 
extent of the electric welding, which, to a great degree, is 
determined by the personnel of the welding department and 
the experience to those who outline the work to be done 
by the electric method. 

BETHLEHEM SHIPBUILDING CORPORATION: 

We are in the yard welding all the non-strength clips 
and fittings to the destroyers, such as furniture clips, cocoa¬ 
matting strips, backing strips for sheathing, shelf clips, etc. 
The welding of these small jobs eliminates the work of 
punching the clips, laying off for drilling, bolting up and 
finally riveting. This work, it will be noted, is very much 
scattered, and therefore comes under the shipyard term of 
“ odd work.” Odd work is necessarily very costly. 

The above jobs are now being done at a very much 
reduced cost and very much less time. * * * 

THE PANAMA CANAL, DEPARTMENT OF OPERATION AND 
MAINTENANCE: 

It may seem like a strange assertion to state that we 
do not employ anglesmiths in the shops, but we do not 
require them—all our angles are welded together by the 
oxy-acetylene- and electric-welding processes. 

Frames, staples, webs, brackets, sheet-iron and steel 
boxes, leaky joints on ships’ bottoms, plates of tanks, pipes 
and fractures in all kinds of ship machinery are welded; in 
fact, electric welding, oxy-acetylene welding and cutting and 
oxy-hydrogen cutting are so extensively used in ship work 
that they have become practically indispensable in their use 
to the Mechanical Division on account of the big saving in 
time, labor and cost. 

From our own experience and through keeping in 
touch with this line of work being carried on in the indus¬ 
trial establishments in the States and elsewhere, we have 
come to the conclusion that oxy-acetylene or electric arc and 
spot welding in their present stage of development cannot 
supplant all watertight ship work that is now being done by 
riveting, but it will be only a matter of time, due to the 
rapid strides made in the development of autogenous welding 
outfits, when all obstacles in this line of work will be over¬ 
come. 


30 


NOVEMBER, NINETEEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN 






























ELECTRIC 


WELDING 



SKETCH 3.—RAISED AND SUNKEN SYSTEM AND CONTINUOUS 
WELDS. TRANSVERSE ELEVATION SHOWING SHELL AND W. T. BULK¬ 
HEAD PLATING AND THEIR CONNECTIONS. 


THE SUBMARINE BOAT CORPORATION: 

We are welding approximately sixty frames on each 
ship in addition to doing a great deal of miscellaneous weld¬ 
ing in connection with outfitting of ships. The welding in 
outfitting has not yet fully developed. By this, I mean 
that we are daily finding additional places where electric 
welding can be used to advantage, and we are strongly 
inclined to push the use of welding to the limit, for the 
reason that we find it considerably cheaper than angle-smith¬ 
ing work for frames, and considerably cheaper and faster 
than drilling and tapping deck beams and bulkheads for 
attaching miscellaneous small brackets. 

THE NORFOLK NAVY YARD: 

In the first discussion of this series, the work being 
done at the Norfolk Navy Yard, where an electrically 
welded battle-practice target is under construction, has 
been described by Naval Constructor H. G. Knox, 
U. S. N., and will not be taken up in detail in this 
paper. It may be well to note, however, that this struc¬ 
ture is composed of simple plate work with no liners 
and no curved plates, and that while it is a good design 
to start on, because of lack of curved surfaces, it has 
one disadvantage that does not apply to an ordinary 

The work done at Hog Island was described by Mr. Ander- 
ton in the October Journal of the Engineers’ Club of Phila¬ 
delphia. 


ship—particularly to a merchant ship, viz., some of the 
welding will be done under confined conditions. 

The joint between the flat keel and side keel plates 
and the joint for attaching plates at right angles appear 
to the writer to be amply strong and likely to remain 
watertight longer than a riveted joint. The welds, 
however, are heavy and, according to British experi¬ 
ments, they will be extremely costly, compared to 
riveting. Further, on account of inaccessibility, it 
would appear that good welding would be difficult to 
obtain. 

On the other hand, this design will serve to demon¬ 
strate whether it is easier to work plates transversely 
or longitudinally, and whether the difficulties antici¬ 
pated from unusual shrinkage are the same in both 
cases. When complete, this structure will not be sub¬ 
jected to such a variety of complex live loads as a ship, 
but at various times in its career it will be subjected 
to considerable shock, so that valuable experience will 
be obtained. 

SPOT WELDING 

Before leaving American practice, a few words 
should be said about spot welding. Professor Comfort 
Adams has given his opinion as follows: 



SKETCH 4.—CLINKER SYSTEM—EXPANSION OF SHELL PLATING SHOW¬ 
ING LAPS AND BUTTS. 


Electric spot-welded joints, properly made, are stronger 
than riveted joints. 

The total labor required for the welding of a given 
number of spots is about one-quarter to one-fifth of that 
required for the same number of rivets. 

The only fear that has been expressed by anyone in 
connection with the application of spot welding to ship¬ 
building is that crystallization may develop as a result of the 
ship’s vibration. It is the opinion, however, of some very 
able shipbuilders that the intensity of the vibrational; stress 
in the structure of the ship is not sufficient to warrant this 
fear. In any case, it is hoped to plan such vibrational tests, 
in connection with the work of this sub-committee, as to 
clear up this point. 

Everyone with whom I have talked on this subject 
agrees that the probable gain by the substitution of spot- 
welded for riveted joints in shipbuilding is so great as to 
warrant the expenditure of every effort to give it a thorough 
trial. 

OF PHILADELPHIA 


ENGINEERS’ CLUB 


31 













































ENGINEERS’ CLUB 


OF PHILADELPHIA 


CONTINUOUS WELD 

vl 


20 LBS 


70 LBS 


X 


7 » 3 bulb /^/yct-E 

=3 


I 


TAC.K WELL? 


SKETCH 5.—CLINKER SYSTEM—SECTION AT C-C SHOWING METHOD 
OF WELDING AT LAP OF BULK” PLATING. 


Shipbuilders in Great Britain would be very glad 
to profit from American experience. They certainly 
fear crystallization, the possibility of a poor joint 
through some defect between the faying surfaces, and 
also that the joint may ultimately fail through one. weld 
being poor or taking an undue share of the load. 


plating would have involved the loss of that ship’s- 
services for many days. 

In another case, a steel stem casting broken into- 
five pieces by collision was repaired in seven days. 
To obtain a new casting would have required four to 
five months. 

In other cases, ships which were experiencing 
trouble through leaky butts straps were repaired by 
welding a thin strip over the joint and a satisfactory 
result obtained. To fit a double strap outside the ship 
(the practice before electric welding was introduced) 
would have involved much time and labor and would 
not have been very satisfactory, causing a poor surface 
and a poor joint. 

The reinforcement of badly pitted plates is another 
of the uses to which electric welding has been applied 
in ship repair during the present war. 


BRITISH WELDING PRACTICE 

Passing now to British practice, and taking up first 
the question of repairs, the following typical instances 
are illustrative of the very broad field to which electric 
arc-welding has been applied in Great Britain, with 
great savings in both time and expense: 

In one case, a ship with a number of fractures in 
the bottom plating was repaired by welding up the 
cracks after they had been “veed.” This work was 
accomplished in sixteen hours, whereas the renewal of 



ELECTRICALLY WELDED CAST STEEL STEM WHICH HAD BEEN BROKEN 
INTO FIVE PIECES. 


ELECTRICALLY WELDED BARGE* 

The construction of this ship (see sketch No. 1) is 
similar to that of a riveted ship. The plates were 
bolted up when the parts were assembled, and after 
welding the bolts were removed and replaced by 
plugs, which were welded up flush with the plating. 

The plates, etc., are comparatively light and easy 
to weld, the only difficulty in the thin plates being 
that the plate may be grooved along the weld if the 
operator is not particularly careful. 

The type of joint used in this construction was 
chosen with the purpose of making as much as pos¬ 
sible of the welding horizontal, so as to render good 
work more easily obtainable. 

EXPERIMENTS DESIGNED TO SHOW THE RELATIVE MERITS 
OF WELDED AND RIVETED SHIP CONSTRUCTION 

We now come to two of the most interesting appli¬ 
cations of electric welding to ship construction so far 
attempted in Great Britain. The two ships, sections of 
which are shown in sketches Nos. 2 and 3, had a por¬ 
tion of the side plating—on one side of each vessel 
only-—electrically welded. The other side of each ship 
was riveted in the usual manner. In one case, sketches 
Nos. 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7, the plating was worked on the 
clinker system; in the other, sketches Nos. 3, 8, 9, 10, and 
11, on the raised and sunken system. Ordinary ship 
construction was followed in both cases, and although 
the sketches do not show the most curved portion, the 
curvature of the shell is very evident. The shape of 
the shell and the restricted space between it and the 
longitudinal bulkhead rendered the work extremely 
difficult, and under more straightforward conditions 
better results should be obtained. 

t 

THE CLINKER SYSTEM 

Referring first to the clinker system, it will be noted 
(see sketch No. 2) that the joint of the lapped edge is 

* For particulars relative to this work the writer is indebted 
to Captain Caldwell and the Quasi-Arc Company. 


32 


NOVEMBER, NINETEEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN 















ELECTRIC WELDING 


horizontal and made in the open by a continuous weld, these cases there is considerable difficult welding, such 
Rivets with non-watertight spacing were worked and work is less likely to give trouble by leakage than 
an intermittent weld applied to the lower edge, ordinary riveted and caulked liners and joints. In this 
If well made, such a joint is quite as good and almost sketch it may be noted that in the connection of the 
as cheap as a double-riveted lap. The joints of the bulkhead to the shell the boundary bar is fastened by 
bulkhead plates are made similarly. Attention is rivets with non-watertight spacing, a continuous weld 
called to the bulb stiffeners at CC and to the joints at being worked along the heel and intermittent welds at 
BB and AA as illustrative of the difficulties that arise 



In sketch No. 4 the butts of the shell plating are 
indicated. The joints are between frames and the 
strap, which is inches wide, is worked on the inside, 
connected by rivets with non-watertight spacing, and 
the butt welded from the outside. Such a joint, if 
well made, is quite as strong as a double-riveted single¬ 
butt strap, is slightly cheaper, and remains watertight 



SKETCH 7.—CLINKER SYSTEM—SECTION AT AA SHOWING METHOD OF 
WELDING TAPERED LINER AT LAP OF BULK 0 . 


SKETCH 8.—RAISED AND SUNKEN SYSTEM—EXPANSION OF SHELL 
PLATING SHOWING LAPS AND BUTTS. 

the toes of the bar at the bulkhead and shell plating. 
I his is an interesting comparison with American ideas 
in regard to right-angle connections. Incidentally, it 
may be added that the ordinary frames are riveted to 
the shell. 



WELDS—C-C SECTION SHOWING METHOD OF WELDING AT LAP OF 
BULK 0 PLATING. 


at greater loads—an important point often overlooked. 

Sketch No. 5 shows a section through the bulkhead 
lap. It is of interest, as it somewhat resembles a shell 
plate joint at a frame. 

The additional welded work necessary where a tap¬ 
ered liner is fitted in order that the bulkhead angle 
may pass fairly from one strake of shell plating to the 
other is shown in sketch No. 6. Similar work is shown 
in sketch No. 7, where the bulkhead angle passes from 
one strake of bulkhead plating to another. While in 


THE RAISED AND SUNKEN SYSTEM 

The remaining sketches show similar work on the 
second ship, plated on the raised and sunken system. 
Note, in sketch No. 3, that, in addition to this difference, 
the bulkhead boundary bar has a continuous weld at the 
toe, both at the shell and the bulkhead. This work 
was done for comparison, but it is hoped that experi¬ 
ence on service will show such extra work unnecessary. 

Sketch No. 8 shows the riveted edges and butts. 
There is a continuous weld on the outside and inside 


ENGINEERS’ 


CLUB OF PHILADELPHIA 


33 



















































































ENGINEERS’ CLUB OF PHILADELPHIA 


of the laps, whereas in the other ship (sketch No. 4) 
there was an intermittent weld on the inside. Further, 
on account of the strake being a raised one, the liner 
extends the whole width instead of tapering, so that 
additional welding is involved. 



SKETCH 10. —RAISED AND SUNKEN SYSTEM AND CONTINUOUS WELDS. 
SECTION SHOWING METHOD OF WELDING BULK 0 TO SHELL PLATING. 


Sketch No. 9 shows the welding at a lap of bulk¬ 
head plating, and is similar to the work (see sketch 
No. 5) on the clinker system ship. 

Sketch No. 10 shows the bulkhead boundary bar, 
with its three continuous welds instead of one contin¬ 
uous weld at the heel and two intermittent welds at 
the toes, as shown in sketch No. 7. 

Sketch No. 11 shows the considerable welding 
where the boundary bar passes over the lap of the bulk¬ 
head plating and a raised strake of shell plating, neces¬ 
sitating two sets of liners. 

SUMMARY OF RESULTS OBTAINED 

The following interesting experience has been ob¬ 
tained from this work: 

In the case of the clinker system, where there was 
no overhead work on the outside of the ship, the plating 
was practically watertight on the first test; but in the 
other ship, on water-testing, the laps which had been 
overhead-welded on the outside leaked, and difficulty 
was experienced in overcoming the leaks. In the case 
of slight leaks being discovered under test in compart¬ 
ments which have been caulked in the usual manner, 
the defects can generally be made good while the water 
remains in the compartment. In the case of welded 
work, however, it has been found that the presence of 
water makes welding practically impossible; so that, 
to remedy leaks by welding, it is necessary to empty 
the compartment. In the ship on the raised and sunken 
system the tests occupied a longer time than usual, and 
it is therefore proposed that with future welded work 
the tests preliminary to a final water test should be 


applied by air pressure. This would probably enable 
leaks to be detected and made good without delay. 

It is expected that as experience is gained the 
results will be more satisfactory, but it is not antici¬ 
pated that it will be practicable to apply welding to all 
parts of a ship’s structure on account of the unrelia¬ 
bility of overhead welding, and it does not seem likely 
that welding will entirely supersede riveting for non- 
watertight work—at any rate, not for some appreciable 
time. 

The clinker system was shown to be decidedly 
superior to the raised and sunken system, and the 
advisability of welding up work at the early stages 
when it was more accessible was clearly demonstrated. 


Lt/ret? 


oota ftA/iep St^ahc 

of Smell Plating 


CONTINUOUS WELD FW T 

LENGTH CF LJNFR 


vlhhpao 

continuous »vg for 

ltrt6TH of Linen 

AF-£/rep LiNCN 

continuous weld 

\B0UNPARY ANGLE 
, Continuous Melo 

continuous Weld rop 

, Lfng th qf l iner 



SKETCH 11.—RAISED AND SUNKEN SYSTEM AND CONTINUOUS WELDS. 
A-A SECTION SHOWING METHOD OF WELDING BK° IN WAKE OF LINERS. 


CONCLUSION 

Summing up: American and British practice differ 
in the following interesting points: 

Americans favor spot welding for bracket and such¬ 
like connections, while the British prefer riveting. 

For right-angle watertight connections the Amer¬ 
ican practice tends to heavy welding, the British to 
riveted angles, the rivets being widely spaced and 
backed up by lighter welding, or to notch angles with 
light intermittent welding. 

For butts, notched or riveted straps with widely 
spaced rivets and one run of heavy welding at the joint 
are preferred by the British instead of a strap lightly 
arc-welded to the plates with heavy welding at the 
joint, which appears the present tendency in America. 

For plate edge joints, British practice favors a 
riveted lap with widely spaced rivets, while the Amer¬ 
ican practice is to dispense with riveting entirely. 

Finally, experience in Great Britain shows that at 
present arc welding should not be applied to mild steel 
plates of greater thickness than 25 pounds, nor can it 
yet be used on galvanized or high tensile steel; but the 
writer has heard of no such limits being imposed in 
this country. 


34 


NOVEMBER, NINETEEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN 





































ELECTRIC 


WELDING 


Sixth Discussion. 


ELECTRIC WELDING PRACTICE AT THE SUB¬ 
MARINE BOAT COMPANY’S PLANT * 

By CLARK HENDERSON, 

Plant Manager, Submarine Boat Company. 

W ITH no conception of the later uses which have 
been found for electric welding in connection 
with ship construction at the Submarine Boat 
Company’s yard, some of us who, prior to coming to the 
company, had had more or less experience with electric 
welding, thought that in some places, at least, welding 
could be used, and with no more definite purpose in view, 
ordered an electric welding outfit. That equipment had 
not been very long in the plant, however, before it was 
found that it was busy all of the time. From that time 
new applications have come up almost continuously, until 
at the present time about six hundred operations are per¬ 
formed by electric welding; and, in the writer’s opinion, 
this extension of electric welding to ship construction will 
continue until the completely welded ship is realized. 

FIELD WORK VS. DESIGN 

In electric welding, as well as in any other experience 
of the writer’s in the development of new methods, the 
pioneer work was done in the field. At the beginning an 
absolute antagonism was felt by our designers against 
electric welding in any of its phases in connection with 
ship construction, with the result that a start was made 
only as the desires and the necessities of the shop for a 
quicker and cheaper process compelled the field men of 
themselves to search for better methods. It was in this 
way that electric welding was started in the Submarine 
Boat Company’s plant. 



VIEW OF ONE OF THE SUBMARINE BOAT COMPANY’S WELDING SHOPS 

* Delivered in the auditorium of the Engineers’ Club of 
Philadelphia, Wednesday, August 31, 1918. 



ELECTRICALLY WELDED FRAMES 

Good suggestions are, however, now coming from the 
designers and others who, at the start, were most strongly 
prejudiced against the work, and who are being won over 
in spite of themselves, although, as yet, it has not been 
possible to persuade the draughting-room to plan electric 
welding operations in advance of field performances. 
Nevertheless, it is confidently expected that within the 
next eight months or a year those who have no interest 
in ship construction other than design will, due to the 
results accomplished in the field, substitute electric weld¬ 
ing for much of the work in which they now call for 
riveting. 

WELDING TRAINING SCHOOL 

The difficulty of securing a sufficient number of good 
operators became early apparent. Fortunately, however, 
the Submarine Boat Company sent one of their most 
capable and intelligent welders to the Emergency Fleet 
Corporation’s training school for instructors at Newport 
News, and he came back a competent instructor. From 
this beginning the company has been able to organize 
their own training school, which has worked out so suc¬ 
cessfully that, due to the time and money lost in otherwise 
determining the competency of new applicants, it is now 
being considered whether it would not be advisable to 
require all applicants hired at the gate to pass through 
this training school, so that the acceptance or refusal of 
their services could be determined there in advance of any 
trial in the field. 

D. C. VS. A. C. EQUIPMENT 

At the beginning of our electric welding work, we had 
at our plant, naturally, the same ideas prevailing elsewhere, 
viz., that welding should be done with direct-current 
equipment under conditions of approximately constant 
current and a fairly low voltage. After experimenting 
with one type of apparatus after another, and after ob¬ 
taining data from other places, we felt that we had more 
or less exhausted the possibilities of the direct-current 
field, and that good welding was, after all, up to the 
operator. 


ENGINEERS’ CLUB 


OF PHILADELPHIA 


35 















ENGINEERS’ CLUB 



ELECTRICALLY WELDED UPPER DECK HATCH COAMING 


About this time the writer became interested in the 
alternating-current welding equipment, and finally came 
to the conclusion that there was little or no doubt but that 
the arc was more difficult to maintain with an alternating 
welder than with a direct-current machine. With this in 
mind, the thought came that, because of the difficulty in 
maintaining the arc, it would be a good idea to use alter¬ 
nating equipment in our welding school, the theory being 
that an operator who had become efficient in maintaining 
an alternating arc would find work with D. C. equipment 
comparatively easy. 

In using A. C. equipment in the training school, while 
it was found that it was almost impossible to maintain a 
long arc with this apparatus, and, as a consequence, A. C. 
welding seemed slower than D. C. welding, it was also 
found that, due to the shortness of the arc that could be 
maintained, the molten metal from the electrode always 
seemed to drop on that part of the surface which was at 
welding temperature. Therefore, a good weld was ob¬ 
tained, or none at all. 

In addition to this feature, as compared to D. C. equip¬ 
ment, alternating-current machines have the advantage 
of less first cost, and, consequently, less stand-by loss; 
they are lighter, and hence more easily moved to any part 
of the ship; they have no moving parts, and therefore 
are not only more cheaply maintained, but can be used 
from positions in which it would not be possible to place 
rotating apparatus. 

On the other hand, we have found that alternating- 
current machines are harder to use on overhead welding; 
somewhat slower than D. C. equipment; and that 


OF PHILADELPHIA 

considerable precautions must be taken to avoid a 'low- 
power factor and the unbalancing of the system. 

BASIS OF WELDER’S COMPENSATION 

Piece work has been adopted in our plant, in addi¬ 
tion to the hourly rate fixed by the Government, for the 
reasons that we are not only willing to pay better wages 
to the more skilful and energetic operators, but because we 
find that it is necessary under this system to lay out the 
work more carefully, so that the workmen shall be caused 
no delay due to lack of prompt and efficient supervision. 

In piece work the prices paid are based on pounds of 
metal deposited plus an allowance for time lost in setting 
up the job and getting it out of the way, so that a proper 
balance might be struck between the man on piece work 
requiring heavy welding and the operator on a job requir¬ 
ing only light welding and a corresponding greater loss 
of time in changing from one job to another. 

Bearing these points in mind, the following rules have 
been used with considerable success: 

1. All work must be set up and laid out for the welders. 

2. Welders must use wire up to within \ l / 2 inches of 

the electrode. 

3. Work must pass the Government inspection, all 

defective work being charged to the operator. 

4. In case of special jobs, the same shall be paid for 

at the existing rates. 

5. In case of shortage of piece work, day rates now in 

effect will apply. 

6. Operators will be given class of work which is in 

accordance with production requirements. 

Working under these conditions, and, further, with 



OTTER GEAR IN POSITION FOR WELDING TO STEM 


36 


NOVEMBER, NINETEEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN 








ELECTRIC 


WELDING 


the men understanding that the best operators would be 
given an opportunity to select piece work, we have found 
that not only is the work speeded up, but that the men 
have done satisfactory welding and at the same time 
earned about 25 per cent, more wages. 

INSPECTION AND TESTING 

The acceptance or rejection of both time and piece 
work is based primarily on the inspection of the Govern¬ 
ment. In piece work, however, no payment is made until 
our own inspectors and supervisors, either through super¬ 
ficial examinations, such as those that can be made with a 
hammer, or by hydraulic or tensile tests are satisfied with 
the work. 

In the shops, where one man’s entire time is devoted 
to inspection, in addition to such assistance as the fore¬ 
men can give, we have no great difficulty in exercising 
close supervision, although in the case of welding on the 
ship, one man, having in charge four or five welders, 
may find that, at times, his men are spread out over a 
radius of an eighth of a mile, and that, therefore, the 
same attention to the work of each cannot be maintained. 
Up to the present time, however, we have used welding on 
eleven ships, with the result that, although most of this 
work was for water- or oil-tightness, we have had to 
reweld on very few occasions. 

PLANT LAYOUT 

Present plans for the Submarine Boat Company’s 
plant contemplate one electric welding outfit per way, 
one for each of the shops at the dock, and about twenty 
for the welding school. The writer is, however, firmly 
convinced that before completion each way will have four 
welding outfits. Up to the present we have been using 
D. C. equipment in the shops, but now that such encour- 
aging results have been obtained with alternating current 
it is planned to give the shops both systems. 

When completed, the plant will have ten 635 H.P. and 
two 350 H.P. motors, in addition to the several rotaries, 



VIEW SHOWING LOCATION OF WELD IN HATCH COAMING 



VIEW OF TANK SHOWING 9" HOLES PLUGGED UP BY ELECTRIC WELDING 

so that it is felt that the question of power factory will 
not come up. With so many welding outfits^ in use, we 
believe that it will be possible to arrange for a distribu¬ 
tion of operators over the various circuits in such a way 
as to avoid any serious unbalancing in the alternating 
current system. 

ELECTRIC WELDING APPLICATIONS 

As previously mentioned, about six hundred opera¬ 
tions are performed by electric welding on each hull built 
by the Submarine Boat Company. Some of the typical 
work is shown in the accompanying photographs. 

A few of the many other applications which may be 
of interest are: 

The splicing of electric welding of sheet piling used 
in the construction of cofferdams in the erection of the 
plant where deeper water was encountered than was esti¬ 
mated; the welding of plates cracked in the vicinity of 
the punching during the process of fabrication; the weld¬ 
ing of leaky rivet heads; the corners of hatch coamings, 
and a great variety in both repair and new work of 
welding for water- or oil-tightness. 

CONCLUSION 

So far as our present experience has gone, it appears 
to us that, all things considered, the alternating-current 
practice is better than the direct current, with the pos¬ 
sible exception of overhead welding; that with bare 
electrodes it is perfectly possible to do satisfactory work, 
and at a lesser cost than with covered electrodes; and 
that the very material saving already found in both time 
and expense in the present limited application of electric 
welding to ship construction will continue to be found 
until riveted fabrication is entirely supplanted. 

On the other hand, with an art that is developing so 
rapidly, we realize that no final conclusion can now be 
reached, and we are, therefore, prepared to take up new 
ideas or new phases of old ideas as they may appear. 


ENGINEERS’ CLUB 


OF PHILADELPHIA 


37 




ELECTRIC WELDING AS APPLIED TO STEEL 
SHIP CONSTRUCTION * 


A series of discussions held under the auspices 
of the Electric Welding Branch of the Education 
and Training Section of the U. S. Shipping Board, 
Emergency Fleet Corporation. 

Seventh Discussion 


ELECTRIC WELDING PRACTICE 

By PROF. COMFORT A. ADAMS 
Chairman of the Electric Welding Committee 

T HE history of almost any new industry reveals 
that the first developments and successes were due 
to practical men, who, while feeling their way in 
advance of established theory, obtained results so en¬ 
couraging as to compel scientific investigations and the 
establishment of clearly defined governing principles. 
So particularly has this been true in the case of Elec¬ 
tric Welding that the committee which was appointed 
by the Emergency Fleet Corporation, first to investi¬ 
gate, and later authorized to establish Electric Weld¬ 
ing in steel 
ship construc¬ 
tion, has been 
almost con¬ 
stantly called 
upon to enlarge 
its activities, so 
as to include 
the ever-in¬ 
creasing new 
problems in 
con n e c t i o n 
with this work 
which are be¬ 
ing encounter¬ 
ed in the field. 

Although it 
is recognized 
in this case 
that practice 
has so decided¬ 
ly preceded 
theory, never¬ 
theless it may 
be interesting 


to trace briefly the developments in this art from 
the viewpoint of the work done by the Electric Weld¬ 
ing Committee, whose personnel is now made up 
of representatives broadly covering the fields of both 
Electric and Gas Welding, and whose activities 
have been carried on largely through its sub-commit¬ 
tees, each of which has been assigned to some particu¬ 
lar phase or phases of the work—such as Testing, 
Research, Training, Ship Design, Welding Equipment, 
the Visiting of Shipyards, Publicity, Report, and Ques¬ 
tions of Policy. 

TESTING 

The methods of testing that have been investigated 
and considered are Magnetic, Electric, X-ray, and 
Mechanical. 

While the investigations in the Magnetic, Electric, 
and X-ray lines have not, up to the present time, been 
carried very far, still there are very great difficulties in 
making the necessary measurements in such a way as 
to be conclusive. The Mechanical methods, therefore, 
appear to be the only ones which yield appreciable 
promise of any practicable success, and even these are 
limited in their application. In this latter method the 

weld is gone 
over with a 
hammer or 
caulking tool, 
to see whether 
the welded ma¬ 
terial can be 
broken loose 
or caved in. 
Such tests are, 
of course, 
highly super¬ 
ficial, and are 
not by any 
means conclu¬ 
sive. For this 
reason it looks 
as if the most 
important fac¬ 
tor in Electric 
Welding is the 
skill of the 
welder, togeth¬ 
er with such 
specifications 



LAUNCHING OF STANDARD TYPE STEEL SHIP 


* Delivered in the auditorium of the Engineers’ Club of Philadelphia, August 7, 1918. 


38 


DECEMBER, NINETEEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN 

























ELECTRIC 


SUMMARY OF TENSILE TESTS 
U. S. SHIPPING BOARD, EMERGENCY FLEET CORPORATION 


Speci¬ 

men 

No. 

Weld 
ma¬ 
chined 
Yes 
or No 

deduc¬ 

tion 

of 

area 

per 

cent. 

Elon¬ 
gation 
in 8" 
per 
cent. 

Elon¬ 
gation 
in 2" 
per 
cent. 

Yield 
point 
lbs. per 
sq. in. 
of plate 
section 

Ultimate 
load lbs. 
per 
sq. in. 
of plate 
section 

Remarks 

22 

No 

54.5 

14. 75 

9.0 

39000 j 

66400 

Fracture 6.58" from 
centre line of weld, 
cracks in weld, cup 
. fracture, dull, silky 
and fine grained 

19 

No 

56.5 

19. 75 

6.0 

37000 

65400 

Fracture 3.22" from 
centre line of weld, 
shear fracture, dull, 
silky and fine grained 

19 

Yes 

17.8 

10.00 

12.0 

37200 

62800 

Fracture at weld, air 
bubbles, dull and 
non-uniform texture, 
irregular fracture 

22 

Yes 

12.2 

3.75 ! 

6.0 

37100 

50000 

Fracture at weld, few 
air bubbles, dull, 
non-uniform texture, 
irregular fracture 

15 

Yes 

8.4 

2.00 

4.0 


39400 

Fracture at weld, air 
bubbles, dull and 
non-uniform texture, 
irregular fracture 

15 

No 

.... 

4.00 

8.0 

42460 

57340 

Fracture at weld, dull 
and non-uniformtex- 
ture, irregular frac¬ 
ture 

3 

No 


12.7 

13.0 

36300 

65470 

Fracture at weld, dull, 
silky and uniform 
texture; good weld 

3 

Yes 

6. 75 

3.75 

5.0 

34300 

50600 

Fracture at weld, dull, 
silky, fairly uniform 
texture; good weld 

5 

No 


4.37 

7.0 

35300 

52280 

Fracture at weld, non- 
uniform texture, not 
thoroughly welded in 
“V” at weld (fair 
weld) 

5 

1 Yes 

7.7 

6.75 

8.5 

35650 

61100 

Fracture at weld, dull, 
silky, uniform tex¬ 
ture, small per cent., 
not thoroughly 
welded (good weld) 

23 

No 


3.0 

5.0 

46440 

57060 

Fracture at weld, dull, 
non-uniform texture, 
not thoroughly 
welded (poor weld) 


governing 1 the manner of doing the work, the materials 
employed, the kind of electrode and current for each size 
of electrode, regulations of current, etc., as will insure 
that the weld is being made under the best possible 
conditions; and it may be stated, moreover, that under 
such conditions we have no reason to expect other than 
good work. 

RESEARCH 

Too much importance has been attached to the par¬ 
ticular characteristics of the machine which supplies 
the current. The difference between different machines, 
each with a good operator, is almost negligible as com¬ 
pared with other difficulties which have been largely 
overlooked in the early history of the art. For ex¬ 
ample, when a welding job appears to be difficult, fre¬ 
quently the machine has been blamed for this difficulty, 
while as a matter of fact the trouble lay in an entirely 
different direction. It is the function of the sub-com¬ 
mittee on Research to investigate all such cases, and to 
segregate the different variables which affect the result 
of a weld, find out the place of each and the part it 

ENGINEERS’ CLUB 


WELDING 

plays, and be able to specify conditions under which 
good welds can be made. 

The work that may be expected of good operators 
working with entirely different systems may be noted 
in Tables Nos. 1, 2, and 3, which show the result of 
tests made on ship plates welded in various places. 
All the welds were made by different people with dif¬ 
ferent systems of current and different electrodes. 

Relative to direct and alternating currents in their 
effect upon arc welding, the opinion has varied some¬ 
what as to the relative merits of these two methods. 
One opinion has been that direct current was the only 
thing, and that alternating current was not satisfac¬ 
tory. One reason for this stand is the difficulty of hold¬ 
ing the alternating current arc, the reason for that diffi¬ 
culty being obvious—namely, that if the arc lengthens 
even a little beyond the safe operating point, it be¬ 
comes, so thin that it goes out between cycles and the 
current passes through zero. On the other hand this 


SUMMARY OF TENSILE TESTS 
U. S. SHIPPING BOARD, EMERGENCY FLEET CORPORATION 


Speci¬ 

men 

No. 

Weld 
ma¬ 
chined 
Yes 
or No 

deduc¬ 

tion 

of 

area 

per 

cent. 

Elon¬ 
gation 
in 8" 
per 
cent. 

Elon¬ 
gation 
in 2" 
per 
cent. 

Yield 
point 
lbs. per 
sq. in. 
of plate 
section 

Ultimate 
load 
lbs. per 
sq. in. 
of plate 
section 

Remarks 

23 

Yes 

3.64 

3.5 

4.0 

37850 

51900 

Fracture at weld, dull, 
silky, non-uniform 
texture, irregular 
fracture, not thor¬ 
oughly welded (fair 
weld) 

25 

No 


1.75 

4.0 

44700 

47800 

Fracture at weld, dull, 
silky, non-uniform 
texture, not thor¬ 
oughly welded (fair 
weld) 

25 

Yes 

4. 75 

2.0 

3.5 

35300 

43700 

Fracture at weld, dull, 
silky, non-uniform 
texture (good weld) 

27 

No 


6.0 

7.0 

31100 

48200 

Fracture at weld, dull, 
silky, “V” shaped 
fracture fairly uni¬ 
form texture (fair 
weld) 

27 

Yes 

2.92 

5.75 

8.0 

30600 

45800 

Fracture at weld, dull, 
non-uniform texture, 
irregular fracture not 
thoroughly welded 
(good weld) 

16 

Yes 

13.8 

3.75 

7.0 

38400 

50250 

Dull, silky, few air 
bubbles, ragged and 
not thoroughly 
welded 

16 

No 


5.25 

.... 

40280 

58740 

"V" shaped fracture, 
dull, silky, fairly uni¬ 
form texture, few air 
pockets (good weld) 

18 

Yes 

10.3 

4.5 

6.0 

37500 

54000 

Shear fracture, irregu¬ 
lar, dull, silky, air 
pockets, non-uniform 
texture (good weld) 

18 

No 

.... 

6. 75 

11.0 

40480 

61760 

Ragged fracture, dull, 
silky, air pockets, 
non-uniform texture 
(good weld) 

20 

No 

57.6 


11.0 

42200 

66480 

Fractured 6.18" from 
centre line of weld, 
dull, silky and uni¬ 
form texture 

34 


62.0 

.... 

32.0 

55900 

58600 

Plate material (no 
weld); dull, silky, 
uniform texture, cone 
fracture 

33 


63.5 


31.0 

52200 

56800 

Plate material (no 
weld); dull, silky, 
uniform texture, cone 
fracture 


OF PHILADELPHIA 39 





















































































































ENGINEERS’ CLUB OF PHILADELPHIA 


condition is considered by some to be an advantage, 
due to the fact that, by reason of the necessity for 
holding a shorter arc with alternating current, the 
molten metal from the electrode always drops on that 
part of the plate which is at welding temperature. An 
opinion which the writer held at one time with regard 
to the direct arc was that there was some difference 
between positive and negative electrodes, which was 
desirable. It happens, however, that in some cases it 
is better to make a plate positive, and in other cases 
to make it negative, so it does not follow that this is 
an advantage in every case; it depends on the length 
of the arc, the materials employed, and their electrical 
as well as their mechanical fusion properties. 

With reference to rigid versus non-rigid systems of 
welding, and overhead welds, the sub-commitfee on 
Research reported under date of August 7, 1918, as 
follows: 


The only point was whether the supposed stresses 
which might be present in case the metals were held rigidly 
during the welding would cause distortion when the parts 


COLD BEND TEST FOR U. S. SHIPPING BOARD. EMERGENCY FLEET 
CORPORATION 


Speci¬ 

men 

No. 

T T 

weld 

Weld 
ma¬ 
chined 
Yes 
or No 

Angle 

fail¬ 

ure 

began 

Angle 

of 

fail¬ 

ure 

Date 

tested 

Tested 

by 

Remarks 

15 

V 

Yes 


30° 

7/19/18 

C. P. H. 

Not thoroughly 
welded. Poor weld. 
Air pockets, dull, 
non-uniform texture 

19 

V 

Yes 

32° 

50° 

7/19/18 

C. P.H. 

Dull, non-uniform tex¬ 
ture. air pockets 
(poor weld) 

22 

V 

Yes 

78° 

80° 

7/19/18 

C. P. H. 

Dull, silky, non-uni¬ 
form texture, not 
thoroughly welded 
(fair weld) 

16 

V 

Yes 

3 S'A° 

76° 

7/24/18 

C. P.H. 

Dull, silky, non-uni¬ 
form texture, not 
thoroughly welded 
(fair weld) 

18 

V 

Yes 

65° 

86° 

7/24/18 


Dull, non-uniform tex¬ 
ture, shear fracture 
(fair weld) 

20 

V 

Yes 

34° 

48° 

7/24/18 


Dull, silky, fairly uni¬ 
form texture, air 
pockets (fair weld) 

24 

V 

Yes 

15° 

33° 

7/24/18 


Dull, silky, fairly uni¬ 
form texture, not 
thoroughly welded 
(fair weld) 

26 

V 

Yes 

15° 

35° 

7/24/18 


Dull, non-uniform tex¬ 
ture, not thoroughly 
welded (poor weld) 

32 

(P. F.) 

V 

Yes 



7/24/18 


O.K. for 180° and 
when bent almost 
double (J4") showed 
small fracture cracks 
(weld not on pin) 

24 

2 

V 

Yes 



7/24/18 


Y" pin, material O.K. 
at 180° 

26 

2 

V 

Yes 



7/24/18 


1 '/i" pin, material 
O.K. at 180° 

26 

2 

V 

Yes 



7/24/18 


Y" pin, material O.K. 
at 180°, and O.K. 
when bent double 



were released, and whether a material change would occur 
with annealing. The conclusion is that if two pieces of 
metal are allowed to lie loosely and free to move, they will 
warp and distort in their relative position during the proc¬ 
ess of welding; yet if they are clamped rigidly, the stresses 
which are set up are taken up almost entirely by a slight 
giving in the weld, so that when the parts are released 
there is no tendency for them to spring out of shape, nor 
is there any apparent lack of strength which can be re¬ 
gained by supposedly releasing the strains with annealing. 

Another matter that we have been investigating, partly 
by trial and partly by talking with our various welders, is 
that of overhead arc welding work. The consensus of 
opinion is that, except for intermittent spots, overhead 
welds are extremely unreliable. In the first place, it is 
difficult to deposit the metal at all without great fatigue on 
the part of the operator; and, in the second place, the quality 
of the work is markedly inferior, and we have come to the 
conclusion that it should not be depended upon at all. In 
other words, overhead welding, in our opinion, is only suit¬ 
able for temporary tacking. 

The above points will by no means cover the work 
being done by the Research Committee, but will never¬ 
theless give some idea of its activities. It is hardly 
necessary to say that an enormous amount of work 
and a large number of men are involved in this under¬ 
taking; but that interest is rapidly growing may be 
known from the fact that the cost of this work is in 
some instances borne by private corporations, as well 
as by the Bureau of Standards and the Emergency 
Fleet Corporation. 

TRAINING 

The Training Committee, although a sub-division 
of the Welding Committee, is really in the department 
of education and training of the Emergency Fleet Cor¬ 
poration. Its function is the training of electric weld¬ 
ers and the instruction of electric welders in the art 
of training others for this work. 


40 


DECEMBER, NINETEEN 


H UNDRED AND EIGHTEEN 









































































































































































ELECTRIC 


WELDING 



ALL-WELDED STEEL BARGE LAUNCHED IN ENGLAND, JULY, 1918 


The existence of this committee is, of course, due 
to the fact that welding activities have greatly outrun 
the capacity of trained welders to meet the demands 
placed upon them, and it was early recognized that 
green men would have to be trained in order to meet 
the demands. 

The schools are located at Schenectady, Newport 
News, the Submarine Boat Corporation, Hog Island, 
and at the Ford plant. The time required to make 
good welders varies, of course, but perhaps an average 
of from four to six weeks will produce satisfactorily 
trained operators. In this connection, however, it 
might be mentioned that one of the difficulties which 
has had to be met, at the present time, is the rate of 
wages, since the fixed government rate of 65 cents 
per hour is not high compared with the wages men 
employed in other work on vessels are earning. 

The improvements in the schools are constantly 
evident, and so hopeful are some interested in this work 
of the good to be gained in this direction that predic¬ 
tions have been made that training schools will become 
an essential part of the employment of skilled labor in 
all successful industries. 

SHIP DESIGN AND COSTS 

The sub-committee on Ship Design was appointed 
originally for the purpose of preparing the design for 
a completely welded ship, although this committee 
will, of course, handle any other designing questions 
that may come up. Its members consist almost en¬ 
tirely of naval architects connected with the main com¬ 
mittee, and the accompanying sketches show in small 
part some of the lines of their activities. 

In addition to this welded ship the Design Com¬ 
mittee has been interested in the design of the battle¬ 


ship Target, which Commander Knox used in illus¬ 
trating his paper, “ The Nomenclature of Electric 
Welding.” The committee is also interested in the 
preparation of some ship sections at the Federal yard, 
one of which is a 42-foot section of a 9600-ton ship in 
which the arrangement of plating is the same as for 
riveting, although the entire section is held together 
by electric welding. 

In connection with the welded ship above men¬ 
tioned, figures reduced to a ton basis which have been 
worked out as to the probable cost of the steel hull may 
be of interest. This cost has been divided into two 
parts, namely, welded and other parts, and is consid¬ 
ered a conservative estimate of the cost of preparing 
plates for welding and assembling. The total cost of 
labor, power, and electrodes, apart from the cost of the 
steel itself, is $63.50 per ton of steel in the hull. In this 
welded ship, however, we have only 2300 tons of steel, 
instead of 2800 tons, which would be used in the ordi¬ 
nary riveted ship. Reduced, therefore, to the same 
basis of tonnage, this cost is only $52.50 per ton for 
the purpose of comparison of the riveted ship. The 
cost of the riveted ship to-day is in the vicinity of 
$80 per ton, although considerably less than a year 
ago this riveting cost was in the neighborhood of $65 
per ton. 

Table No. 4 will give comparisons of the cost of 
welding on a unit basis. The average speed of welding 
is five feet per hour, not allowing for the long waits 
of actual work, and are taken from the English practice. 
The amount of metal per running foot is 0.6 of a 



SHOWING WATERTIGHT BULKHEAD 


OF PHILADELPHIA 


ENGINEERS’ CLUB 


41 







































































ENGINEERS’ CLUB OF PHILADELPHIA 


pound, and the current 150 amperes. The power is 
estimated to cost 3.6 cents per foot, bare electrodes 7.2 
cents, and labor 13 cents. With covered electrodes the 
cost is much greater, although this difference is due 
only to the difference in cost between bare and covered 
electrodes. 

Table No. 5 gives a summary of the results obtained 
in England in gas welding. The figures have been 
converted by the substitution of American cost for 
oxy-acetylene labor rather than the English cost. Al¬ 
though American data as to the cost of gas welding 
is not complete, nevertheless in the practice in this 
country the difference in favor of arc welding is much 
greater than indicated in these English figures, par¬ 
ticularly when we take into account the reduced cost 
of bare versus covered electrodes. As a rule, however, 
the gas weld is more ductile than the arc weld. It has 
been generally considered that the gas weld is more 
satisfactory for other metals than iron and steel, such 
as cast iron, for instance. 

SHIPYARDS COMMITTEE 

The function of this committee is to visit ship¬ 
yards for the purpose of stimulating interest in the use 
of electric welding in connection with steel ship con¬ 
struction, and to give such assistance to shipbuilders, 
or to the men who are doing the welding, as may be 
possible, since it is of the greatest importance that the 
managers and superintendents in the yards know of 
the difficulties of welding, the necessity of skilled weld¬ 
ers, and the best possible electrodes for each particu¬ 
lar purpose. 

It is also the purpose of the committee to bring to 



WELDING DATA ON PROPOSED WELDED SHIP A" PLATE LAP OR 
DOUBLE V 


The Data is Based on the Use of Bare Electrodes and Motor Generator 
Average speed of welding on continuous straightaway work. .. 5 ft. per hr. 

Amount of metal deposited per running foot.6 lb. 

Current ISO amps. @ 20 volts =3KW 

Motor generator eff. SO per cent. =6 KW-i*5 =1.2 KWH per 1 ft. run 

1.2 KWH X 3 cents =. 3.6 cts.perft. 

Cost of electrode 10 cents per lb. and allowing for waste ends, etc. 7.2 cts. per ft. 
Labor @ 65 cents per hr. 5 ft. = labor.13.00 cts. per ft. 

Total cost of weld per ft.23.8 cts. per ft. 


Data from Capt. Caldwell’s letter July 18, 1918, covered electrodes, rheostatic 
control line voltage 100 V., but with .6 lb. electrode per ft. 

Average speed of welding on continuous straightaway work ... S ft. per hr. 
Amount of metal deposited per running ft. -6 lbs. 


12 KW S ft. =2.4 KWH X 3 cents per ft. run. 7.2 cts. 

Cost of electrodes. 44.16 cts. 

Labor @ 65 cents per hr. -s- S. 13.00 cts. 


Total cost of weld per ft. 


64.36 cts. 


the attention of shipbuilders the list of the parts ap¬ 
proved by the classification societies, although it might 
be mentioned that if all the parts approved were welded 
we should have a program which would tax the indus¬ 
try away beyond its present possibilities. The pro¬ 
gram for permissible welding as outlined at Hog Island 
covers a total number of about 225,000 pieces, which it 
is estimated could be riveted at a cost of about $245,000, 
and welded for about $99,000, or approximately 60 per 
cent, of cost of riveting. 

This committee, in connection with the Publicity 
Committee, Equipment and Report committees, is pre¬ 
paring a handbook on Electric Welding in which will 
be found just such data as everyone who is doing 


July 18, 1918 

REPORT FROM CAPTAIN CALDWELL ON SPEED AND COST OF 
VARIOUS TYPES OF WELDING 


Oxy-Acetylene 


Thick¬ 

Gas per 

Ft. run 

Cost of 

Iron 

Labor 

Time Speed 

Total 

ness 

Oxy. 

Acetl. 

gas per 

wire for 

per ft. 

per in ft. 

cost 

of 

plate 

c. ft. 

c. ft. 

ft. run 

filling 
in cents 

@ 65 cts. 
per hr. 

foot per 

hour 

per ft. 
of weld 
in cents 

H" 

. 74 

.57 

2.25 

1.5 

5.415 cts. 

4m. 55s. 12 

9. 16 

A" 

3.2 

2.4 

9. 64 

1.66 

8.66 cts. 

8m. 20s. 7.5 

19. 96 

A" 

7 8 

5.5 

22.74 

4. 

13.25 cts. 

12m. 15s. 4.9 

39.99 

A" 

11.5 

8.8 

35.02 

5. 

15.85 cts. 

14m. 20s. 4 .1 

55 87 


Oxy. @1.4 cents per cu. ft. delivered 
Acetylene @2.15 cents 

Filling wire 1 cent to 10 cents per foot according to size 
Labor @65 cents per hour 


Carbon Arc 
Bernados System 


Plate 

KWH 

Filling 

Carbon 

Labor 

Time per 

Feet 

Total cost 


@ 3 cts. 

metal 

@ 8 cts. 

@ 65 cts. 

foot of 

per 

per ft. of 



in cents 

per foot 

per hour 

weld 

hour 

weld in 








cents 

A" 

2.4 cts. 

. 26 

. 16 

2.954 cts. 

2m. 45 s. 

22 

5.77 

A" 

4.5 cts. 

1 . 

. 24 

5.42 cts. 

5m. 2 s. 

12 

11. 16 

A" 

9.3 cts. 

2.00 

.40 

11.81 cts. 

10m. 55 s. 

5.5 

23.57 

A" 

15. 

4.00 

. 80 

18.57 cts. 

17m. 0 s. 

3.5 

38.31 


Time given is total time and includes swaging of weld after welding. 
Time during which current is approximately 50 per cent, total time of weld. 


Metal Electrode Arc Welding 


Plate Power KWH 
used per @ 3 cts 
foot run 
amps, at 

100 v. 

Electrode 
per foot 
run in 
cents 

Labor Time 

@ 65 cts. per foot 
per hour of weld 

Speed 
in feet 
per hour 

Total cost 
per foot 
of weld 
in cents 

A" 

55 amp. .54 cts. 

7 

2.166 cts. 2m. 

30 

9. 71 

A” 

100 amp. 1.35 cts. 

12.9 

2.954 cts. 2m. 45s. 

22 

17.2 

A" 

100 amp. 4.8 cts. 

19.2 

8.66 cts. 8m. 

7.5 

32.66 

A" 

120 amp. 7.2 cts. 

25.5 

13. cts. 12m. 

5. 

45.7 

price. 

American price of covered electrodes approximately 80 per cent, of English 


The above figures have been obtained from Captain Caldwell's report 
by substituting American prices for labor and material for the English prices. 


42 


DECEMBER, NINETEEN 


HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN 


































































ELECTRIC WELDING 


1 


» 


r 


electric welding will desire. There will be in this 
handbook, for example, diagrams of the connections 
of every type of electric welding apparatus in exist¬ 
ence, together with data as to its efficiency under con¬ 
stant load, and under actual ordinary working condi¬ 
tions. At the present time a great deal of misinfor¬ 
mation has been brought into the welding field and 
optimistic statements have been made in the press which 
have resulted in actual harm, and which it is hoped to neu¬ 
tralize through supplying in this handbook absolutely 
reliable information. 

CONCLUSION 

The spot weld is satisfactory for most purposes. 
The difficulty in this direction, however, lies in the fact 
that spot welders are heavy and cumbersome, and have 
been, up to the present time, difficult to handle in port¬ 
able form. The power required for spot welding is per¬ 
haps double that required for arc welding, but the speed 
of spot welding and the labor cost is tremendously re¬ 
duced as compared with arc welding. The large sta¬ 
tionary spot welding machines, such as have been used 
in fabrication shops, will undoubtedly find a tremen¬ 
dous field of usefulness, as in this class of work the 
limitations have not been found difficult to meet. 

With arc welding, on the other hand, the field of 



THN't^rte 


FROM OsscniPTioiy Of H'iik Ano Keauf-Ta oothinuo 
laeLiave a *0.0 tr»s *»»«/» rtAoi — Jv>T ocroi/r 




PORTABLE SPOT WELDING MACHINE 

usefulness is absolutely unlimited, not only in the ship¬ 
building field but in all departments of manufacture, 
and is growing so rapidly to-day that it is very diffi¬ 
cult to keep pace with its possibilities. 

With respect to the all-welded ship, it may be stated 
that very few people have so far appreciated how good 
the all-welded ship would be, with the result that the 
average capitalist is still suspicious of this new method 
which has not yet been thoroughly proved out. When 
a man who is paying for ships seeks information in 
this direction, and is passed along from the ship owners 
to their superintendents, and from, the superintendents 
to the foremen, and from the foremen to the riveters, 
it may readily be appreciated that the information on 
electric welding returned to him has not been very 
satisfactory. 

A further reason why the completely welded ship 
is not being realized at the present time is the effect 
of crystallization of the joints under vibration stresses. 
Most arc welds, although not all, are, relatively speak¬ 
ing, brittle, and ship designers and the classification 
societies are cautious and afraid of this brittle joint. 

As mentioned previously, however, the lists of parts 
which have been approved by the classification societies 
for electric welding, together with many other parts 
which by deduction would be classified as approved, 
have presented a field for electric welding so large that 
we are not in any immediate danger of exhausting the 
present possibilities; and by the time this point is reached, 
other lists from the classification societies will probably 
have extended the field in advance of practice, and by 
these successive steps the field will have broadened, until 
the completely welded ship is realized. 


ENGINEERS’ CLUB 


OF PHILADELPHIA 


43 































ENGINEERS’ CLUB OF PHILADELPHIA 



Eighth Discussion 


ELECTRIC WELDING—A NEW INDUSTRY* 

By H. A. HORNOR 


INTRODUCTION 


A BOUT a year ago the Chairman of the Stand¬ 
ards Committee of the Institute was requested 
k to investigate and standardize spot welders and 
the apparatus connected with them. It occurred to the 
members of this committee that electric welding could 
perform an important function in increasing the prog¬ 
ress of steel ship construction. The work which was 
started by the Standards Committee was then trans¬ 
ferred to the General Engineering Committee of the 
Council of National Defense. Last winter the Council 
of National Defence abolished all advisory committees; 
but at this time the Emergency Fleet Corporation of 
the U. S. Shipping Board had become so much inter¬ 
ested in the subject that they decided to adopt the 
Committee. The Committee is composed of represen¬ 
tatives cover¬ 
ing broadly the 
whole field of 
welding activi¬ 
ties in this 
country and, 
although elec- * 
trie welding 
has been the 
subject of all 
the investiga¬ 
tions up to the 
present time, it 
is now pro¬ 
posed to in¬ 
clude gas weld¬ 
ing with repre¬ 
sentatives from 
all the g a s 
welding asso¬ 
ciations and 
companies con- 
nected with 
this industry. 

The two main 
processes of 
electric weld- t 
ing, namely, arc welding and spot welding, were found 
by this committee applied in the first case to repairs 


25 KW, 110 VOLT A. C. HAND-OPERATED LIGHT-DUTY SPOT WELDERS 


* Presented at a Joint Meeting of the Philadelphia Section 
of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, the Associa¬ 
tion of Iron and Steel Electrical Engineers, the Engineers’ Club 
of Philadelphia and the Electric Welding Committee of the 
Emergency Fleet Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., September 16, 
1918. Courtesy of the A. I. E. E. Proceedings for September, 
1918. 


and in the second case to certain factory quantity pro¬ 
duction jobs. The work done was in the case of spot 
welding only on light material, and in neither case very 
extensive. The processes to be successful in their ap¬ 
plication to the construction of merchant vessels would 
have to show reliability in the joining of steel plates 
from a half-inch to one inch in thickness. To this and 
kindred problems the committee immediately turned 
its attention. 

The work had all been done in the field where it 
had been applied by practical men. It was first nec¬ 
essary to formulate the proper nomenclature and sym¬ 
bols. This was thoroughly investigated and a very 
comprehensive set of s,ymbols has been approved by 
the committee and is in daily use by those now ac¬ 
tively engaged in this new application. The approved 
nomenclature introduces the subject to the designing 
and calculating engineer and gives him the instrument 
by means of which he is able to place his thoughts rap¬ 
idly and conveniently on drawings. 

The manufacturers of apparatus joined the practical 
man in the study of the problems of electric welding. 

Apparatus and 
so-called proc¬ 
esses intro¬ 
duced various 
types of ma¬ 
chines suitable 
for the conver¬ 
sion of elec¬ 
trical supply to 
the proper val¬ 
ues of current 
and voltage 
needed at the 
arc or at the 
spot. The man¬ 
ufacturer in 
his eagerness 
to meet the 
problem natur¬ 
ally encounter¬ 
ed many diffi¬ 
culties. These 
difficulties i n - 
creased until 
a point was 
reached as re¬ 
ferred to above 
where he demanded some standards upon which his appa¬ 
ratus could clearly be rated. Therefore, the manufacturer 
was only too pleased to co-operate with the Welding 
Committee and is today conscientiously aiding in 
straightening out the difficulties in which he was in¬ 
volved prior to last year. 

Arc welding in this country has largely been done in 
railroad repair shops. It was discovered that the proc¬ 
ess was much cheaper and could be performed more 


44 


DECEMBER, NINETEEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN 













ELECTRIC 


WELDING 



ELECTRIC WELDING EQUIPMENT MADE FOR UNITED STATES GOVERN¬ 
MENT BY WILSON WELDING & METALS CO. 


rapidly than by any of the gas welding methods. It 
also could be applied without preheating and in many 
cases without the expense of disassembling compli¬ 
cated pieces of machinery. Spot welding besides being 
used in many different industries was sought for by 
the railroad man and there has been built a gondola 
car which has seen some seven or eight years of ser¬ 
vice. It is interesting to note here the difference in 
practice between Great Britain and the United States. 
The former knowing little or nothing about spot weld¬ 
ing had the practice and application of arc welding very 
well under way; the latter exactly the reverse. 

Apparently the attempts to train operators were 
rather crude and it was early observed that the relia¬ 
bility of the electric weld depended substantially upon 
the skill of the welder. The manufacturers of appa¬ 
ratus and the- superintendents in railway shops had 
struggled with the problem of training operators, but 
intensive study had not been given the subject so that 
there existed in this respect a great deal of groping in 
the dark. 

PRESENT STATUS OF ELECTRIC WELDING 

Investigations were immediately undertaken to an¬ 
swer the question whether spot welding could be suc¬ 
cessfully accomplished using one-inch thick steel 
plates. An experimental apparatus of large size was 
erected and put into operation, the results showing 
that no difficulty was encountered with half-inch and 
three-quarter inch plates. The same remark applies 
to one-inch steel plates. In fact, this experimental ma¬ 
chine was successful in welding three thicknesses of 
one-inch plate, a condition which far exceeds the re¬ 
quirements of merchant ship construction. This op¬ 
eration has its historical significance in that this was 
the first time that any spot welding of this magni¬ 
tude had been performed. The successful outcome of 
these experiments has led to the design and construc¬ 
tion of large spot welders to be used in the fabrication 
of ship sections. The practical application of a large 


five-foot gap spot welder will be made at a demonstra¬ 
tion of a forty-foot section of a standard 9600-ton ship 
to be built at the plant of the Federal Shipbuilding 
Company, Kearney, New Jersey. This is the largest 
portable spot welder ever built. It will prove two 
points in ship construction by the electric method, 
namely, the clamping of the ship’s structural parts for 
assembly, thereby reducing the time in working the 
material as well as for the erection of the ship material; 
and secondly, by the speed of spot welding it will prove 
the decrease in time for joining the material together. 
The consensus of opinion is that the large stationary 
spot welder of five- or six-foot gap will undoubtedly 
play an important part in increasing the speed of fab¬ 
ricating sections of standard steel vessels. Further in¬ 
vestigations are being made and designs are being 
worked out for special spot welders for use in the con¬ 
struction of bulkheads. The designs proposed are 
chiefly for shop processes, but it can be asserted that 
such apparatus will be of undoubted value in the sav¬ 
ing of time and man power. 

Arc welding had been tried in a great variety of work 
but there was no conclusive evidence that it could be 
developed to the stage of joining ship plates with the 
certainty of full strength. The first stage of this in¬ 
vestigational work is now almost completed. Sample 
welds of half-inch ship structural steel were taken by a 



ARC WELDING IN THREE DIFFERENT POSITIONS :—FLAT, VERTICAL 
AND OVERHEAD 


ENGINEERS’ CLUB 


OF PHILADELPHIA 


45 











ENGINEERS’ CLUB OF PHILADELPHIA 


special sub-committee to fourteen or fifteen different 
places where electric welding was being performed. 
This sub-committee saw the welding done, noted the 
conditions of current, voltage, electrode, operator, etc., 
and then prepared the welded samples for tests. The 
samples were forwarded to the Bureau of Standards 
in Washington so that the tests should be conducted 
by parties absolutely disinterested and without knowl¬ 
edge of how the samples were obtained. The results 
of these tests showed a remarkable similarity, espe¬ 
cially when it is realized that they were made by several 
firms with different electrode materials and under vary¬ 
ing conditions of the electrical circuit. Practically all 
of the welds pulled at over 50,000 pounds per square 
inch and several over 60,000 pounds, the average being 
about 58,000. On the bending test one of the samples 
was bent to an angle of 78 degrees before a crack started 
and final failure reached 80 degrees. In another case 
the sample was bent to 65 degrees before the crack 
started and final failure did not occur until 86 degrees. 
The point of importance here is that all the welds 
showed a reliability and satisfactoriness which makes 
conclusive the opinion that electric arc welding is ap¬ 
plicable for the joining of steel where the structure is 
submitted to live loads, bending strains, static pressure 
or the like. The sub-committee on Research is pur¬ 
suing this subject and practical samples are being pre¬ 
pared for similar tests using three-quarter and one-inch 
stock material. The results of these tests will be avail- 



30 KW—440 VOLT A. C. SEMI-AUTOMATIC SPOT WELDER. HYDRAULIC 
pressure; capacity, two } 4 " PLATES 



SAMPLE SHOWING INDIFFERENT AND GOOD BUILT-UP WELDS 


able as soon as the reports are presented and approved 
by the Welding Committee. The Research Committee 
is also preparing various types of joints in heavy plat¬ 
ing. These will be submitted to all the regulation tests 
and in addition to shock and fatigue tests and tests to 
destruction. 

To give a further indication of the large size prac¬ 
tical tests which are being carried on at the present 
time it may be stated that three 12-foot cube electrically 
welded tanks are now being constructed. These tanks 
are built in such a way that from twelve to fifteen dif¬ 
ferent designs of joints are used in their construction. 
After these tanks are built they will be subjected to a 
static strain and the deflection of the seams will be 
directly measured. Afterwards they will be tested by 
external shock and crushed to destruction. Portions 
of the joints will be cut, sent to the Bureau of Stand¬ 
ards, and again tested for the sake of accumulating 
precise data. In this connection there is being built at 
the Norfolk Navy Yard a battle-towing target. The 
keel of the target, 110 feet long, will be entirely elec¬ 
trically welded and the results of this practical demon¬ 
stration will be carefully recorded after it has been put 
in regular service. 

It is to be expected that the manufacturers of ap¬ 
paratus, being keenly observant of the increased inter¬ 
est in electric welding as well as in the future, which 
is probably now unquestioned, would be active in their 
desire not only to improve their present facilities and 
their design of apparatus but also to proceed them¬ 
selves to follow the trend of the investigations made 
by the Welding Committee. The consequence of this 
has been a large increase in output of apparatus and it 
may be unhesitatingly stated that there are no diffi¬ 
culties in the way of obtaining all the electrical weld¬ 
ing apparatus that is needed. One interesting point 
is that certain manufacturers who were decidedly of 
the opinion that direct current was the only proper 
current to use for arc welding have within a very re¬ 
cent period changed their point of view and are willing 
to admit that alternating current may have certain ad¬ 
vantages in the development of this art. 


46 


DECEMBER, NINETEEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN 













ELECTRIC WELDING 




r 


c 


r 

n 


i 



A B C 

SAMPLES OF WORK DONE ON 30 KW SPOT WELDER 
A — to" structural members welded to T ' 6 " plate 
B —1" bar welded to No. 16 gauge plate 
C—39 pieces of No. 16 gauge plate 

The electric arc requires a reduced voltage and 
this is difficult to attain with direct current without 
relatively expensive machines or a useless expenditure 
of energy. The practice in this country in manufac¬ 
turing establishments of any size has been toward an 
increase in the supply voltage so that very few large 
manufacturing plants use less than 220 volts direct cur¬ 
rent. With this voltage the only economical method 
of transformation is in the use of a motor-generator set. 
The efficiency in this case is in the neighborhood of 
50 to 60 per cent. It is possible to use a supply voltage 
of 110 volts with a variable resistance which cuts down 
the voltage to the arc volts. This gives a very poor 
efficiency. In the case of alternating current the sup¬ 
ply voltage can be reduced by a transformer which will 
supply, as in the case of direct current, a sufficient volt¬ 
age for striking the arc and a satisfactory reduction 
when the arc has been struck. On the other hand, if a 
low voltage alternating current is provided a simple 
reactance may be introduced which has some of the 
same wasteful characteristics of the resistance used 
with the direct current. The average apparatus will 
permit of electric arc welding consuming about six to 
eight kilowatts per welder, but if low voltage is provided 
there are certain outfits which will reduce the consump¬ 
tion as low as three and one-half kilowatts per welder, 
or even less. 

Without entering into an elaborate analysis of the 
relative costs of electric welding, it may be broadly 
stated that there is hardly any question that the electric 
process is cheaper than any other. The same may be 
said as regards speed and also reduction of man power. 
In a recent discussion of this subject President Adams 
stated that at one of the Eastern shipyards the total 
number of parts on the welding program of the stand¬ 
ard riveted ships now building at that yard amounted to 
225,000. The labor cost for riveting these pieces is 
about $245,000 and for welding about $99,000, making 
a saving of $146,000. But this is only a drop in the 
bucket when compared to what might be profitably 
done in this line. He stated further that in certain 
particular instances the saving is as great as 90 per 
cent. 

ENGINEERS’ CLUB 


One of the interesting questions discussed with 
some fervor by the members of the Welding Commit¬ 
tee is the advantages of the bare and covered elec¬ 
trode. Regarding this discussion no definite facts can 
be stated. In England the practice has been to use the 
covered electrode which protects the welding arc from 
contact with the air, thus guarding against too great a 
formation of oxide. The practice in the United States 
up to the present time has been largely bare wire. Re¬ 
cently, American investigators have discovered the 
important fact that there are advantages in the cov¬ 
ered electrode and many experiments are now being 
made, some with results. It is important to observe 
that in the above-mentioned tests of welds, the best 
one of these samples was made with a coated (not an 
asbestos covered) electrode using alternating current. 
The point in this case seems to rest upon the question 
of the ductility of the weld and it would seem that the 
bare electrode does not make as ductile a weld or at 
least one as easily bent as the coated or covered elec¬ 
trode. The question of the ductility of the weld is one 
of much importance in the application to ship construc¬ 
tion and will doubtless be of importance in other allied 
industries. It is, therefore, a question of serious im¬ 
portance and constitutes an important part of the work 
of the sub-committee on Research. 

No matter what the type of electrode is nor its com¬ 
position, no matter what kind of shank material is to 
be welded, no matter what kind of apparatus is em¬ 
ployed, the reliability of the weld rests mainly upon 
the man who makes it. This man, if he has been prop¬ 
erly trained and is skilled in the art, knows instantly 
whether he is making a weld or not. He becomes after 
much practice able to judge fairly well upon looking on 
a finished weld whether it is a good weld or not. The 
work of training electric welding operators early be¬ 
came a part of the functions of the Education and 



ARC WELDING BOILER FLUES 


OF PHILADELPHIA 


47 






ENGINEERS’ CLUB 

Training Section of the Emergency Fleet Corporation. 
The men connected with this work are members of the 
Welding Committee. Schools for the training of op¬ 
erators as well as for the conversion of operators into 
instructors, are established in many parts of the coun¬ 
try. The objects held in view by the training de¬ 
partment are first to give the man intensive practice 
work so that he becomes a good craftsman. The meth¬ 
ods are simple to start with, as the exercise of the right 
arm muscles must become flexible enough to permit 
the operator to give the required movement to the 
electrode. By a graduated series of exercises this is 
accomplished in about eight weeks. The man is al¬ 
lowed to do production jobs in the shop which gives 
him confidence through responsibility. It becomes 
desirable at this time to give the man some outside 
work on ships and where this is practicable it is done. 
1 he man is then turned over to an instructor, who gives 
him an intensive course in pedagogics lasting from 
five to six weeks. At first sight it would not seem nec¬ 
essary to so instruct a man, but it is not generally un¬ 
derstood that teaching after all is itself a trade. The 
experience with the men in this respect is most in¬ 
teresting. In nearly every case the man has resented 
this course at the start, but at the end has turned com¬ 
pletely around and in many cases has desired an even 
more extensive training. What is really accomplished 
is to give the man the necessary confidence to impart 
the knowledge that he has gained to another green 
man. The men under training are taken from the vari¬ 
ous industries, especially the shipbuilding industry, 
and after they have finished their instructor training 



ARC WELDING AROUND RIVET HEAD TO PREVENT LEAKAGE 


OF PHILADELPHIA 



PARTIALLY COMPLETED ARC WELDED SEAM—NOTICE TACK WELDS TO 
HOLD PLATES TOGETHER 


course are returned to their employer to carry on the 
instruction, in their own plant. The men who go 
through this training as provided by the Emergency 
Fleet Corporation are certificated when they have shown 
themselves to be entirely proficient. It is 1 not possible 
nor expedient for the Emergency Fleet Corporation to 
require the certification of all electric welders. It is 
the consensus of opinion that all industries doing seri¬ 
ous work with the electric arc should use men who are 
certified as to their ability in the art of electric welding. 
The main reason for this opinion is that the operator 
must be a conscientious workman or the weld will not 
be of perfect quality. 

This brings forward another problem upon which 
a great deal of experimental work has been and prob¬ 
ably will continue to be done, namely, a practical and 
scientific method of testing a welded joint after it has 
been made. There have been a number of suggestions 
made for the solution of this problem. They are, 
briefly, as follows: 

(a) Mechanical. By hammering the weld or by 
chipping at frequent intervals. 

(b) Electric. By means of resistance or voltage 

drop. . 

(c) Magnetic. By means of the permeometer or 
the change of conditions of the magnetic circuit. 

(d) X-ray. By means of an exposure on an X-ray 
plate. 

At the present time none of these suggested methods 
have been productive of conclusive results and re¬ 
course must be had to the purely mechanical methods 
of striking heavy blows on, or adjacent to, the weld or 
by using a chipping hammer and making intermittent 
examinations. It would seem by far the best proce¬ 
dure to make the inspector proficient in the art so that 
he may closely observe the welders while at work. 


48 


DECEMBER, NINETEEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN 









ELECTRIC WELDING 



PATCH IN FIKE BOX 


This may be accomplished by a two or three weeks 
attendance of inspectors at any one of the electric weld¬ 
ing training centres. 

METHODS OF ELECTRIC WELDING 

There are many methods and processes of electric 
welding, but the two main ones that interest the com¬ 
mittee at the present time and alone have been men¬ 
tioned so far are the spot welding and arc welding. It 
may be a surprise to some of the oldtime welders to 
consider electric welding as a new industry. In sub¬ 
stantiation of this statement it may be well to describe 
briefly what is meant by electric welding as it is prac¬ 
ticed today. 

Spot welding is not much different in the methods 
of procedure or in design of apparatus as when it was 
first introduced. Copper electrodes, water-cooled in 
the heaviest machines, are placed on opposite sides of 
the material to be welded together. The joint is a lap 
joint. Machines are now so designed that two spot 
welds may be made at one time. The routine of the 
operation is as follows : 

The electrodes are brought into contact with the materials 
to be joined, current is supplied sufficient to give the required 
heat, pressure is then applied, the current is removed, and 
the pressure is removed; the weld is then complete. 

The operator has a perfect indication of making a 
good spot weld by the use of a button placed under 
the electrode, observing which he knows exactly the 
proper timing of the operation. There is therefore no 
question as to a good, bad, indifferent spot weld. Au¬ 
tomatic spot welders have been designed and built, but 
it is the general opinion that they add complication to 
a process which in itself is very simple. 

The process of arc welding is as follows: 

One side of the electric circuit is connected to the material 
to be welded, the shank material is usually prepared by bevel¬ 
ing the edge of the pieces to be welded together. The other 
side of the electric circuit is connected to the electrode. The 
operator is provided with a holder which carries the elec¬ 


trode. By touching the electrode to the shank material the 
arc is drawn. The skilled operator now moves the electrode 
from side to side of the groove, giving a semi-circular 
motion, while at the same time moving the electrode along 
the groove. 

It is important that the arc “ bite ” into the shank 
metal, creating a perfect fusion along the edges, and 
the movement of the electrode is necessary for the re¬ 
moval of any mechanical impurities that may be de¬ 
posited. In the coated electrode it is further necessary 
that the slag which forms for the protection of the pure 
metal be worked up to the surface, and it is extremely 
important in the event of a second or third layer that 
the slag or impurities be carefully scraped away before 
the virgin metal is again laid on. 

The operator in arc welding is protected with either 
a hand screen covering his face with special glass 
through which to observe his work. The electric arc 
emits dangerous invisible rays in both the upper and 
lower spectrum scale and it is quite evident that both 
the infra-red and ultra-violet are dangerous in their 
effect; the former is pathological, the latter actinic. 
The operator further uses gloves for his hands and for 
the very difficult work of overhead welding it is nec¬ 
essary for him to use a helmet which partly covers his 
breast. 

DEVELOPMENTS 

The tendency of developments in spot welding has 
already been slightly touched upon. In their nature 
as applicable to shipbuilding the advancement will nat¬ 
urally have to proceed toward means for accomplish¬ 
ing spot welding in very cramped locations. This 
makes an exceedingly difficult problem, as the power 
requirements are such as to preclude any very small 
device. In riveting one half of the apparatus is on 
one side of the work and the other half on the oppo¬ 
site side and it is difficult to conceive of any method 
of spot welding that will admit of such an arrange¬ 
ment. In shipbuilding it is quite probable that designs 
may be made that will permit of a large or at least in¬ 
creased amount of spot welding in the actual construc¬ 
tion of the vessel. Certainly, present designs of riv¬ 
eted ships will not allow of this to any great extent. 



ELECTRICALLY WELDED MOTOR LAUNCH BUILT IN 1915 AT 
ASHTABULA HARBOR, OHIO 


ENGINEERS’ CLUB 


OF PHILADELPHIA 


49 







ENGINEERS’ CLUB 

As already stated, spot welding can now take its place 
in the fabricating shops and it is to be expected that 
within a few months spot welding will begin to sup¬ 
plant riveting in this field. The only drawback to this 
will be the sufficient production of spot welding ap¬ 
paratus. 

The tendency of development in arc welding is to¬ 
ward the automatic machine to obviate the respon¬ 
sibility that has to be placed upon the skilled operator. 
Intensive work has been done within the last few 
months in the line of automatic arc welding machines 
and at the present time sample tests of welds made 
by such apparatus have been sent to the Bureau of 
Standards. These machines will occupy a very impor- 



THE ELECTRIC ARC 


tant position in repetition work. They will not imme¬ 
diately supersede the skilled operator in repair work, 
or in special jobs, but it may be expected that the de¬ 
velopment of such machines will bring about appa¬ 
ratus which can be man-handled and will eventually 
take the place of most of the hand work as it is now 
known. 

Of the scientific advancement in the art of electric 
welding there is so much to be treated that only a 
general outline can be considered at this time. The 
research work has only just begun. Practice has pre¬ 
ceded the scientific investigation. The field, therefore, 
is full of most interesting problems. Those who have 
been following the development of the past six months 
are deeply interested to know the fundamental reasons. 
The investigational questions may be grouped into 
three main divisions: 

1. Metallurgical. 


OF PHILADELPHIA 

2. Physical. 

3. Electrical. 

The metallurgist has yet to tell us what the condi¬ 
tions of the metals are after the electrode material has 
fused with the parent metal, and to determine what the 
proper conditions must be to produce a good weld. 
This problem has in it a great many variables. The 
physicist must explain the atomic or electrode condi¬ 
tions which permit of the combinations at the high 
temperatures involved and must explain the phenome¬ 
non of overhead welding. The electrical investigator 
must determine all the various phenomena connected 
with the preferences between and the advantages of the 
use of different forms of electrical energy and the vary¬ 
ing characteristics of the electric circuit in producing 
different types of welds. 

CONCLUSION 

From the preceding remarks it must be conceded 
that the Welding Committee of the Emergency Fleet 
Corporation has already crystallized the problems con¬ 
nected with this art. The working functions of this 
Committee have been laid down upon the broadest pos¬ 
sible lines. Liberal opportunity has been given every 
one to state in detail his opinion and to express the 
reasons for his preference on every point connected 
with this subject. The Committee goes even further 
than this. It furnishes those interested with every new 
idea that is brought to bear upon the subject after 
sifting from the suggestions any question of doubt 
or misstatement of fact. All suggestions of improve¬ 
ment or problems of special application are gladly 
taken in hand, thoroughly investigated, and reports 
made. It will welcome any comments that those con¬ 
nected with the industries may desire to lay before it. 
The personnel is at the present time such that it can 
devote not one but many minds to the solution of any 
specific problem that is laid before it. 

The Committee early discovered that the literature 
of electric welding was very much clouded by mis¬ 
statement of fact or half-baked theory and much of the 
time of the Committee has been taken up in disproving 
such statements. In order to spread the results of this 
work to all quarters a handbook is now being prepared 
which will contain only definite facts and results of 
investigations as are approved by the whole Commit¬ 
tee. This handbook will be made available to all those 
who desire to acquaint themselves with the proper 
means of accomplishing good and reliable electric 
welding. 

Complete and detailed notes on all discussions may be referred 
to at the Electric Welding Branch, at 253 North Broad Street, 
Philadelphia, Pa. 


50 


DECEMBER, NINETEEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN 























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